


25 (Holi)days of Wayhaven

by neld13



Series: Tumblr Monthly Prompts [1]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: F/M, One Word Prompts, Platonic Relationships, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:49:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 27,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28540587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neld13/pseuds/neld13
Summary: A month's worth of prompts from @wayhavenmonthly's December prompt list on Tumblr focusing on my Detective, Jordan Mills, and her relationships with Adam and the rest of Unit Bravo.All set at least a few months after Echoes In The Forest ends.
Relationships: Female Detective/Adam du Mortain
Series: Tumblr Monthly Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2191950
Kudos: 20





	1. Morning

**Author's Note:**

> These are prompts written for the 25 (Holi)days of Wayhaven prompt list over on Tumblr about my Detective Jordan, and I'm actually pretty pleased with how they turned out so I'm throwing them up here as well now that I'm done!
> 
> Possible spoilers for my chaptered fic, Echoes In The Forest, so it might be worth reading at least the first few chapters of that first if you haven't yet, by then it becomes obvious where things are headed anyway.

It startles Adam at first, to find a warm body laying beside him in his bed. But only for a split second. Only until he remembers what happened the night before. His surprise quickly turns to embarrassment, and then just as quickly to what he could only describe as happiness.

Embarrassment over how things had played out. Embarrassment over how carried away he'd become. He remembers his hesitance, he remembers Jordan witnessing his fangs extending when he'd finally, _finally_ buried himself inside of her. He remembers losing himself completely to her, and mostly he remembers losing control and how quickly he'd found himself at that point. Even now it startles him to discover how eager he could become to let her overwhelm him.

Happiness when the judgement he had been waiting for never came, when she’d smiled gently at him and forced his head out of where he’d hidden it in the crook of her neck. He remembers her quiet words reassuring him that he didn’t need to hide any part of himself from her.

She stirs lightly in her sleep, the blanket shifting down her back as she rolls onto her stomach, her cheek now resting on her forearm as she faces him. His gaze runs over her face and down the exposed skin of her back, and he marvels not for the first time at how comfortable she is to be sleeping so peacefully beside him. How much trust she must have in him to allow herself to remain in such a vulnerable state sharing a bed with him.

It is not something he’s familiar with; someone having that level of security with him. She’s always felt it, he suspects. He thought for so long that she didn't have any kind of connection to him, wasted so much energy being envious of the unique relationships she shares with Nate, Felix and Mason. Only now was he realising that perhaps they'd shared something all along. Perhaps in the way that she has always challenged him, never afraid to back down from what she believes. Perhaps in the way that she's never felt a need to try to impress him; she has always been herself around him.

Perhaps the two of them had always been comfortable with each other exactly the way each of them were without even realising it. It would be ridiculous of him to believe in something so foolish as being made for each other, he knows that much, but sometimes it almost seems as such. Even, perhaps especially, when she is standing her ground so defiantly against him.

She stirs again and one of her eyes cracks open, a slow and lazy smile creeping across her face as her gaze meets his.

"Good morning, Commanding Agent."

There's a hint of a joke in her voice, and he is grateful that nothing seems to have changed between them in that regard. She's still teasing him, still trying to bait him in her own way, but he finds himself more willing than ever to go along with it, giving in almost immediately and granting her a small smile, noticing her one open eye shifting its focus to one of his cheeks. To the dimples that she'd been so enamoured with when she'd seen them properly for the first time.

"Good morning, Detective."

He offers a teasing reply in kind, his voice as well as his stare softer than he's used with her so far in all the time he's known her, yet still he tenses when she rolls towards him onto her back, the action bringing her closer to him, her side pressed up against his torso as her hand reaches for him and draws light shapes over his stomach.

And what a morning it is, to be waking up with her and for her to show no signs of regret over what had transpired between them the previous evening. His body relaxes into the firm mattress beneath them again and his eyes slowly fall shut as it almost becomes too much, as it often does when he is near Jordan.

Though not sexual, her smell, her heartbeat, the massive impact her fingers have on him as she drags them up to his chest making goosebumps rise on his skin, all of it twists and twirls together until all he can smell or feel is her. He would even go so far as to say it's as though he can taste her in the air around him.

The realisation brings to mind an indeed _entirely_ sexual thought and he catches her hand, lifting it to his face and pressing light kisses to her knuckles. She has awakened a long dormant side of him and now he can't get enough, but he knows he must keep control of himself. He knows that should he let his urges get the best of him there would be no coming back from it. She would consume him entirely and he is not quite ready to relinquish full control like that.

She stretches out beside him, arms raised high above her head and back arching enough to make the blanket slip further down her body, but he finds he doesn't even have to try to avert his eyes. She is beautiful, there is no denying it, but he is too lost in her face and how content she looks in this moment to be starting the day with him.

"Breakfast?" she asks once she relaxes back down, though both of them know fully that he has no taste for human food. Still, he gives a nod in response.

Perhaps now with her, he will once again see the appeal in many of the things he once enjoyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	2. Bakery

The weight of the moment isn't lost on her. She's well aware of what a massive shift it is, though it no doubt looks as normal as the sun rising each morning to passers by. 

But sitting in public with Adam, in a comfortable silence with the man she's been literally feuding with until mere days ago; Jordan feels it, though she's unsure whether she likes what she's feeling or not.

It weighs her down with possibilities, with questions, with what ifs that are not likely to be answered anytime soon. But there's a certain ease to it as well. There's no cause for arguments in this moment, no stubborn verbal head butting from either of them. There's no need to hide it when she finds her eyes drawn to his, and he no longer pulls his face back to its familiar harshness when he catches her looking. Now he looks right back at her, a smile in his eyes that she knows he struggles to match with his expression.

There's no lingering doubt about what he may or may not feel for her, he'd answered any questions she'd had about that last night. He's been such a huge presence everywhere he goes, ever since she met him. He's certain, determined and commands respect and compliance upon simply entering a room, but she saw - no, _felt_ \- a different man last night.

She'd been presented a brief glimpse of it in the forest that day, the day that had changed everything between them, and it had overwhelmed her even then. Last night it had taken her breath away when he finally let the mask fall and let her see the parts of him that she suspected no one but Nate had been privy to in decades, probably centuries.

Every shadow of doubt in himself, every trace of pain that his eyes sometimes flashed with before he would compose himself, every hint of shame within him, she now has a front row seat to every bit of it and it makes her feel all the more close to him and terrifies her at the same time.

It isn't lost on her how different he is to other men she's dated, even without his immortality. Men like Bobby Marks. Greedy, self serving, _weak_ men and she knows with absolute certainty that Adam is who she's been waiting for. If she were to lay out profiles of each of the men she's been involved with, Adam would most definitely be the odd one out and once she'd realised it she suddenly understood why nothing had ever stuck before.

She needs someone as sure of her as they are of themselves. Someone who will not smother her, someone who has no interest in using her or their connection to her to further some part of their own life. She needs someone willing to rely on her, just as she needs someone to rely on. She needs to be needed as much as she needs, and she needs to be loved as though there is no other her partner would dream of being with.

"You are smiling." His voice breaks into her thoughts as she fixates on the half eaten pastry in front of her and she looks up at him in surprise.

"Is that a problem?"

"That depends greatly on what you're smiling about."

She likes this side of him. This almost playful, almost _cheeky_ side of him, and she wishes that he'd shown it to her long ago.

"And if I said you?"

"Then I would allow it," he smiles, and even now it still causes her stomach to flutter and makes her heart race for just a moment.

She wishes she could reach for his hand and from the way his shifts on the table before curling into a fist, he feels the same way. But they have agreed to keep what is between them, between them for the time being. The rest of Unit Bravo seemed to know it was coming some time before it happened, though it remains unspoken knowledge at the Warehouse, save for Felix's unsubtle attempts at pushing them together at every opportunity.

But the way Haley keeps smiling over at them, throwing knowing winks in their direction when she thinks Adam isn't watching and the way she walks past every few minutes to ask if they need anything makes Jordan wonder just how long they'll be able to keep their relationship quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	3. Comfort

It's been a few weeks now, and Jordan has spent more nights at the Warehouse in Adam's room than she has in her own apartment since they returned from Germany. Not that he's complaining. One of his favourite things he now finds is getting to start the day beside her. Or under her, as it so happens.

They always start the night the same way; she turns away from him and he slides one arm under her to wrap around her chest, his other hand coming to rest on her stomach. He holds her like that until she falls asleep, relishing the smell of her hair, the feel of it in his face, the way her body tucks in so neatly against his.

Once she is asleep, he carefully unwraps himself from around her and heads to the training room. He spends a few hours there usually, always sure to make it back to his room in time to be there when she wakes up. The second he lays down, he doesn't know how exactly but she seems to sense it in her sleep and she rolls herself half on top of him before he can get his arms around her. 

He found it supremely uncomfortable the first few nights after she started doing it, but he has since come to cherish those early morning moments with her, asleep though she may be. An arm and a leg draped over him and her head on his chest, it means more to him that she wishes to be close to him in her sleep than perhaps anything she does while she's awake. He has even found himself able to join her in her last hour or two of rest on several occasions.

Tonight is different though. It starts in the same way but when Adam tries to move, her hands move to grip his arms tightly and he thinks that she must still be awake. Strange, when usually she is heavily asleep within minutes.

"Jordan?"

It still feels strange at times, using her name. He still catches himself starting to call her Detective, and she always shoots him a certain look which never fails to pull him up when she catches it.

She doesn't answer, but her heart is racing and he realises how wet the hands holding onto him are; she's sweating. He leans over her as best he can to check her face and she is indeed asleep. But where usually there is a soft and content smile, there is now a frown and his movement to get a better look at her causes her to fidget and drags a tiny whimper from her mouth.

He thought the nightmares had stopped, but it would appear that they haven't. Either that or they've been brought back to light after the events of their last mission. She shifts again, her fingernails digging into his arms and then he hears it. His name. Quiet, _so_ quiet, yet she may as well have turned and screamed it in his ear.

An unfamiliar feeling of pride sweeps over him when it dawns on him that it is _him_ that she's calling for, and is replaced just as quickly by a feeling of dread at the possibility that he is what she's dreaming of, rather than who she's calling to for comfort. A small part of him would rather not know, but the rest of him needs to. He needs to know whether or not she is afraid of him deep down.

Despite her many reassurances, despite Nate and Felix and even Mason once telling him that he was absurd to even think such a thing, he still worries in the back of his mind. He worries that she will wake up one morning and realise who - or _what_ \- she has foolishly allowed to wrap around her during the night and come to her senses.

For his own sanity, he needs to know. He cannot have the question lingering anywhere in his mind. There is no room for doubt, not when he can feel himself surrendering to her a little more each day.

He tightens his hold on her and buries his face into her hair, inhaling deeply before moving to press a kiss to her temple.

"Adam…"

Louder this time, and accompanied by a sharp gasp and then a sigh of relief, her heart picking up its pace a little more before she jerks awake and, to _his_ relief, does not push him away. Instead she runs her hands up his arms carefully as though to make sure he's really there, and then rolls over, nuzzling her face into his chest as her heart rate returns to normal and he feels her body relax.

Neither of them say anything. What is there to say? Nothing that he can tell her will erase what has been done to her, nothing he can say will change what her mind chooses to show her while she sleeps. There is nothing to be gained by her detailing the events of the dream to him.

So they lay in silence together, the easy silence that so often falls between them now, and all he can do is just hold her that little bit tighter, wordlessly conveying to her that she will never again be left to deal with her difficult memories alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	4. Rustic

A  _ date.  _ It's the last thing Jordan had expected when Adam had marched into the library where she was studying with Nate and formally requested her presence. His tone of voice had suggested that he was displeased with something she'd done, so much so that even Nate had shot her a questioning look as she got to her feet. She had given a small shrug in response before following Adam out of the room, almost having to jog to keep up with him.

Pressing him for details as he'd led her out of the Warehouse and into the woods had proven useless and he'd walked along ahead of her, giving away nothing and she had become increasingly annoyed the further she followed.

But now she is standing in the middle of a small clearing; so small that maybe you couldn't even call it a clearing so much as a small gap between trees. Set up in that slight gap is a table adorned with a vase of red roses and a covered plate. The afternoon sun peeks through the trees, casting bright light in some areas and making shadows dance across others as a soft breeze rustles the leaves overhead.

"What is this?"

She asks, tearing her eyes away from the set up and looking up at him.

"It occurred to me that I've yet to take you on a date."

"A date?"

She asks incredulously, and a frown settles on his face.

"Nate and Felix assured me that this would suffice, being that we cannot be seen together in this way in a public setting."

She just stares at him, utterly gobsmacked and speechless that he would even consider taking her on a date, even a secluded woodsy one. The frown fades from his face the longer she looks at him, uncertainty creeping over his features as his eyes dart between her and the table.

"Is this… not acceptable?"

She smiles softly at his concern, still not used to seeing this side of him - the insecure and hesitant side. She moves closer to him and wraps her arms around his waist and he tenses for a moment, his discomfort with affection too well ingrained to put to rest so soon. After a moment though his arms wind around her in return and she lifts onto the balls of her feet to kiss his lips lightly.

"It's perfect."

He releases her and moves to pull a chair out for her.

"I'm glad, as the only other suggestion I received came from Mason."

She grins at him as she sits down, waiting for him to take a seat across from her before speaking.

"I can imagine what his suggestion was, and for what it's worth I would've been okay with that too."

He raises an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a slight smile.

"Is that so?"

She just nods, her grin fading to a flirtatious smirk and he nods back thoughtfully.

"Noted."

She remembers when she would never dare to utter anything close to innuendo to him, and perhaps in those days it was for the best. Still now she wonders how he's going to react to some of the things she says, but he's a lot easier to read now, and he surprises her almost every time by being receptive to her flirtation, sometimes even appearing eager to reciprocate.

With it comes a sense of exclusivity; she knows that many women have tried it with him, even in the time that she's known him. She feels a small, private tinge of pride in knowing that  _ she  _ is the only person who can speak to him like that. He's chosen her, and perhaps for the first time in her adult life she feels absolute confidence in the person she's chosen to be with. She knows that he could have anyone he wants, but the one he wants is her and it's hard not to let her ego swell just a little bit when she reminds herself of it.

"So what prompted this?"

She asks after a moment, gesturing to the table between them and the woods around them. He smiles briefly, his dimples taking pride of place on his cheeks and as they have since she first laid eyes on them, her hands itch to take a hold of his face and glide her thumbs over them.

"I wanted to spend time with you."

He answers simply, and the candid response makes her return his smile.

"We spend time together almost everyday."

"You would prefer only to see me around the others?"

His voice is serious, as is the expression on his face, though his eyes sparkle with a mischievousness that she is slowly coming to recognise.

"Definitely not."

He reaches across the table and takes one of her hands in his, his thumb tracing circles on her palm and leaving prickling heat in its wake.

_ Most  _ definitely not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	5. Cold

Adam does not quite understand Jordan and Rebecca's relationship, all he knows is that the two or three times he's mentioned it Jordan has shut down and it's made him hesitant to ask her again now that he's become so close to her.

The icy chill that resides in the air around the two women whenever they're together is almost too much to bear though, Adam can tell that even Felix's mood becomes significantly dampened because of it.

As Agent Mills walks out of the study, his eyes remain fixed across the room on Jordan. Her arms crossed over her chest, glaring sullenly at the space where her mother stood seconds ago, he can almost feel the threat of frostbite from his place beside the window.

He knows that it cannot be easy to continue keeping things from the people in her life. He's seen first hand the toll it took on her to keep Unit Bravo's true identities from those close to her, and now she's working hard once again to keep the truth about the two of them secret.

There is a tense silence once the door clicks closed behind Rebecca, and Nate gives him a look and a subtle nod towards Jordan. He suppresses a sigh, knowing that Nate is right; he should talk to her. But these kinds of emotions and difficulties within families are not his forte, and he's incredibly certain that he would only make things worse.

Mason is pushing himself off of the desk he's leaning against before Nate can even finish ushering him and Felix out of the room, though it takes a little more coaxing for the latter to reluctantly agree and trudge away, leaving Adam alone with Jordan.

He stays quiet for a moment, knowing that he needs to consider his words to her carefully where Rebecca is concerned, and then moves across the room to her. He wanted this, he keeps reminding himself. He wanted to be closer to her, to be the one she relied on in more than a professional sense.

"Are you alright?"

He gently takes hold of her arm as he asks her, leading her over to sit on the couch and then sitting down beside her. He shakes off how strange, but how good it feels to be able to be close to her like this without her asking why. He ignores her heartbeat and her smell, focusing on her now darker than usual eyes as she pouts at the floor in front of her.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

She responds moodily, shifting her gaze up to meet his.

"You and your mother… I know your situation is not ideal."

"What situation would that be? The one in which she was never there for me as a child? Or the one in which she lied to me for my entire childhood and well into adulthood? Or this situation right now, in which she pretends to be hesitant out of concern for me, but it's really either a lack of confidence or a case of her trying too hard now that it's too late?"

He doesn't respond, how can he? He understands that she is frustrated with the woman, he understands that she feels betrayed, but Agent Mills is her  _ mother.  _ He feels conflicted, not for the first time with Jordan. Torn between a fierce and unrelenting urge to protect her and stand by her, and his loyalty to the Agency and Agent Mills in particular.

"I don't expect you to understand."

She mutters after a tense silence, and it's as though he can feel the cold radiating from her, where there is usually comforting warmth. He has failed her, he realises. She senses his struggle between her and the Agency and she thinks she has lost.

He moves closer to her, lifting a hand to brush the backs of his knuckles over her cheek and then tilting her face up towards him with two fingers under her chin.

"I understand, and I sympathise. But, she is-"

She rolls her eyes and jerks her head away from, suddenly feeling even further away than when she was standing on the other side of the room.

"I swear to God, Adam. If you're about to give me a 'family is important' speech, save your breath. Nate's better at those anyway."

He's not a stranger to her temper. In fact he's probably more familiar with it than any other member of his Unit. This is the first time he's experienced it since they've been home though. Things are different now, and now her words hit him directly in the chest, piercing through to his heart and rushing through his veins until it clouds his mind and he struggles to think straight.

"Family  _ is  _ important. But I believe that sometimes the family that you create for yourself is more important than that which was bestowed upon you."

She frowns at him, confusion clouding her eyes.

"What are you saying?"

His conscience is screaming at him before he even speaks. He has never gone against Agent Mills before. Given a choice between her and anything else, there has never been a question in his mind about who to side with. Just like there is no question now, though he finds that this time he has no desire to defend Rebecca other than the loyalty ingrained in him. Loyalty which is slowly being redirected.

"I am saying that we are your family also.  _ I  _ am your family, and I will support you in whatever way I can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	6. Gentle

He never rolls off of her straight away, Jordan muses. In all of her years seeing men, she's never been with someone who seems as desperate (for lack of a better word) as Adam seems to be to stay as close to her as he can get. They've only been together like this a handful of times, but each time he stays as he is, as wrapped in her limbs as she can manage, his face nuzzled into her neck and remaining inside of her for as long as they are both comfortable.

Her hands run slowly up and down either side of his back and eventually he lifts his head a little, his lips moving lightly over her neck. A few weeks ago, if someone had told her that Adam was going to be the most affectionate man she's ever been with, she would've either laughed in their face or punched it. But that's exactly what she's coming to learn that he is.

It's never just sex with Adam. It happens less frequently than it had with any of her previous partners, but when it does it still takes her breath away. She can tell that he loses himself a little when they're together, he forgets his restraint and his composure and his entire body often trembles with the massive effort it takes for him to take it easy on her.

But afterwards, it's always soft, always sweet, always  _ affectionate.  _ It's always him being unwilling to move out of and away from her, and always her relishing his weight on top of her. She's practically cocooned under him, his frame completely covering hers, but she has never felt safer.

His lips continue to move over her neck, not even really kissing, just dragging lightly across her skin. His hips shift just slightly, but remain pressed firmly against hers so as not to pull out of her before he's ready as he pushes up onto his elbows and rests his hands on either side of her face, finally looking at her. She smiles at him and he smiles back - this is always the time when she can get him to smile the easiest. He is neither stern nor demanding, instead he's raw and open and it's in these moments that she gets to see all of him. The  _ real  _ Adam du Mortain, before centuries of heartbreak and tragedy turned him into the serious and deeply sad man he was when she met him.

Her hands are still dragging up and down his back and his thumbs stroke over both of her cheeks before he kisses her lightly and pulls back, but then leans down to kiss her again. It's as though he can't get enough of her, and she certainly hopes that's the case because she definitely can't get enough of him.

Finally he pulls back again and reaches back to take her hand and bring it to his face, kissing lightly over the jagged scars Murphy left behind, as he always does. A wordless promise that he will never again let something like that happen to her.

Then, with one last kiss to her lips, he moves enough to let himself slip out of her and lays down beside her, immediately gathering her up in his arms.

"Are you alright?"

The question is muffled by her hair, but she doesn't even need to hear it to know what he's asking. The same question he asks every time.

"I'm not made of glass, Adam. I'm not as fragile as you think I am."

"That is not an answer."

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm always fine, you have to stop asking."

He's quiet for a long while before he loosens his grip on her enough that she can move to where he can see her and his arm slides under her shoulders, his fingers curling around her arm.

"I do not wish to hurt you."

"I know."

"I would never want to hurt you."

"Adam, I know. You didn't hurt me."

"I hope that you would tell me if I did."

"Have I ever not told you when you're doing something wrong?"

He chuckles, the deep sound so rarely heard reverberating in the air around them.

"No, you have not."

"I rest my case."

They both fall silent at that - he is the only person she can be truly silent with. She used to think Nate was her quiet place, but now with Adam her mind goes quiet too, like he's her own personal source of meditation.

The sex might sometimes be almost frantic, sometimes intense and overwhelming, almost always a little bit rough. But this part?  _ This part  _ is always gentle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	7. Winter

"I can't feel my hands."

"Get closer to the heater."

"If I get any closer I'll be sitting on it."

"So sit on it!"

"I said I can't feel my  _ hands,  _ not my ass."

Jordan's unable to keep the smile off of her face as she listens to Felix and Mason squabbling like a pair of toddlers, and she glances to the side towards Nate to see him watching them in dismay, every bit the den mother.

It's a bitterly cold winter's day and as such the vampires have all elected to stay indoors, and Jordan isn't about to try to persuade them to venture outside. She's not particularly fond of the cold herself after all.

"Would one of you just take your shot?"

Adam asks from where he's standing behind her, one hand resting lightly on her lower back and the other holding a pool cue, uncharacteristically casual and at ease as the five of them pass the time in the games room.

Mason pushes off of the wall beside the large oil heater with a huff, rubbing his hands together for a moment to try and warm them up before snatching his cue from where it's leaning against the wall and stalking over to the pool table.

He lines his shot up carefully, his cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth as he closes one eye to aim… and pockets the white ball. He straightens up, eyes narrowed at the table, and Jordan sees his fist clench around the cue before he picks it up and drops it on top of the table.

"I  _ told  _ you I couldn't feel my hands!"

He complains to Felix, who's biting his lower in an unsuccessful attempt to keep from laughing. He holds his hands up in front of him when he sees the look on Mason's face.

"I'm sorry! Your face just gets really funny when you suck at something. It's like-"

He scrunches his face up, narrowing his eyes and wrinkling his nose, his top lip curling into a snarl in what actually turns out to be a rather accurate impression of Mason.

"I. Couldn't. Feel. My. Hands."

Mason defends again slowly, and Adam takes a step forward, his hand sliding across Jordan's back before falling away.

"Mason, perhaps it would be wise for you to take a walk around the facility and ensure no one needs assistance."

Everyone in the room, including Mason, knows that Adam's just giving him something to do, sending him off to cool down and giving him some time away from Felix. He doesn't argue though, just storms out of the room in a huff, flicking the door and letting it slam closed behind him.

"You really ought to stop giving him such a hard time."

Nate tells Felix gently, but the latter just shrugs and chuckles.

"Did you see his face though? He's so funny."

"One day he's going to tire of you playing with him."

Nate warns, but Felix just waves a dismissive hand in front of him.

"No he won't!"

He says cheerfully before making his way over to the card table and draping himself over one of the chairs.

"Jordie! Go Fish?"

He drawls, giving her his best puppy dog eyes until she grins and goes to sit across the table from him.

Adam watches them for a moment as Jordan shuffles a deck of cards and begins dealing them out. He remembers when he would feel fleeting sadness, even close to jealousy, whenever he would watch the two of them together. Back then he'd thought that she would never look at him with anything other than irritation or anger. Though he sometimes does still see those things when she looks at him, most of the time she looks at him unlike he's ever seen her look at anyone. As though he is her world, and he knows that she sees the same thing when she looks at him.

"Things are going well, then?"

Adam looks over at Nate as he speaks, finding that he can't completely wipe the small smile from his face. He and Jordan have stopped denying their relationship while only around the rest of Unit Bravo. They knew that it was already known and it had become difficult to pretend that there was nothing there while the people around them seemed to be constantly waiting for confirmation.

"Quite well, yes."

"I believe I've seen more smiles on your face this past month than in all the time I've known you."

Adam doesn't respond, just looks back over at Jordan. He knows it's true; some days his face aches after going so long without much more than a brief smile on the very rare occasion, to now be smiling almost every time he finds his gaze drawn towards her.

"It is good to see you finally happy, old friend."

Nate adds, patting his shoulder lightly before heading over to the drinks cabinet. He is more than happy, Adam thinks to himself, casting one last glance towards Jordan before going to join Nate. For the first time in centuries he feels  _ alive. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	8. Eggnog

Jordan eyes the drink sitting on the counter in front of her. Seeing it completed doesn’t make her any more eager to try it than she had been the previous day when Felix had first announced that he intended to make eggnog, in her honour. She picks the glass up and sniffs it, trying her hardest not to wrinkle her nose. All four vampires are watching her intently; it seems she is both Felix’s targeted audience and his guinea pig. He's told her that he didn’t trust that any of their opinions would count due to their heightened sense of taste.

“How many cloves did you put in this?”

She asks hesitantly, and he gives her a wide grin.

“A lot! Like ten!”

He replies gleefully and Jordan only just manages to stop her eyes from widening in horror. This is going to be bad. He’s still grinning at her as she takes a sip, keeping the glass to her lips for a moment as she fears she’s about to spit it straight back out again. It’s  _ bad  _ bad. It makes her stomach lurch and almost takes her breath away.. But Felix is watching her like a kid who’s just cooked his Mum breakfast in bed for Mother’s Day, so she plasters a smile on her face.

“It’s… good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep.”

She chokes out with a nod, her eyes darting over to Mason who looks as though he’s trying not to laugh before he turns away from her.

“You really didn’t have to, though. You know I’m not that keen on Christmas.”

Jordan adds, turning her attention back to Felix.

“Well maybe this will help you get in the mood!”

He rebuts before jumping from his chair and picking up the almost full jug of eggnog to place what's left in the fridge. He gives her another happy grin before basically bounding out of the kitchen, obviously pleased with himself and off to plan more festivities to try and force her into the Christmas spirit.

The beginning of December has brought with it an almost frightening change in Felix's mood, and he's been bouncing about the Warehouse for the past week with Nate, describing in great detail what decorations he wants and where. It seems that being able to properly prepare for the festive season is another thing to add to the long list of things he's thankful for now that Unit Bravo have a permanent address.

Nate's almost as bad. Not as hyperactive as Felix but apparently more than willing to indulge in the younger vampire’s enthusiasm. Even Adam seems to be getting into the spirit of things, though sometimes it’s hard to tell. He’s agreed to help set Christmas lights up all over though, he even seems to be having a good time every so often as he works out the logistics of having all the lights that Felix wants working simultaneously.

Only Mason is on her side it would seem, sitting back and staying out of things as often as the rest of them will let him, rolling his eyes and scowling a little more often than usual as the decorations go up. Jordan has never been much of a Christmas person. All this time of year ever brings her is memories of being a young girl, waiting year after year for her mother to decide that spending time with her family was more important than work, only to be disappointed every time. It got worse once Rook was gone, and she would be left with whatever family member or babysitter was available and willing to look after Rebecca’s daughter while she was home from school for the Christmas break.

“So how bad is it?”

Mason asks, pointing to the glass still sitting in front of her. Jordan looks over her shoulder to make sure Felix isn’t around and then leans forward to whisper her response.

“So bad.”

Mason lets out a loud laugh, Nate coughs loudly to cover his own laugh, even Adam chuckles a little.

“Here,”

Mason ducks down to rifle through the cabinets under the kitchen bench and comes back up with a bottle of rum before opening it and proceeding to empty  _ much  _ more than a standard shot into the glass until the liquid threatens to overflow.

“Better?”

She leans down to take a small sip, afraid to lift the glass for fear of spilling it, but still pulls a face. At least the rum has somewhat overpowered the smell and taste of the cloves though.

“It’s-”

She pauses and takes another sip.

“Different.”

“Tolerable?”

“Mostly.”

Mason nods and screws the cap back on the bottle.

“Better than it was then.”

He says with a shrug, and Adam eyes Jordan warily.

“Perhaps you should pace yourself.”

He says slowly, but Jordan just grins at him and leans down to take another long sip.

“Why? Afraid I’ll get drunk and try to take advantage of you?”

Nate coughs again and walks out of the room, but Mason leans against the bench, looking between them with a smirk.

“Well?”

He prompts when Adam doesn’t answer.

“Well what?”

Adam shoots him a warning glare that Mason decidedly ignores, tilting his head towards Jordan and winking.

“You want her to take advantage of you or not?”

“Maybe he plans to take advantage of me.”

Jordan offers when Adam still doesn’t reply, just stares at the two of them with a slight hint of exasperation. They both look back at him, Mason still smirking and Jordan still grinning as they wait for his answer. But he knows they’re trying to make him say something foolish, so the answer never comes. He just shakes his head with a small groan and starts to walk out of the room, ignoring the way Mason and Jordan start laughing as soon as he has his back to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	9. Hands

Adam doesn’t often actually sleep when Jordan stays in his room with him. She is well aware of the fact that he leaves the room once she’s asleep and goes about his usual nightly routine, and then comes back to bed before she wakes up in the morning. She knows that he feigns tiredness and lays down with her at night solely for her benefit, not that she’s complaining about those couple of extra hours she gets with him at the beginning and the end of each day she stays at the Warehouse.

So it comes as a massive surprise when she sleepily lifts her head to see him sleeping underneath her. She crosses her hands on his chest, resting her chin on them and her head rises and falls steadily in time with his breathing as she studies his face. She remembers the first time she’d woken up beside him in the tent in Germany and her heart had skipped a beat when she’d thought for a split second that he was going to touch her.

Should would’ve thought after a few months of spending almost every night with him and his lingering touches at random times throughout the day that were slowly becoming more and more frequent that she would be more used to being close to him, or actually being able to touch him. But her heart still skips that beat as she runs her gaze over his face. His hand slides from her side down to her back as he stirs a little in his sleep, and her breath still catches in her throat at the light drag of his fingers over her bare skin.

She lays her head back down on his chest, listening to the steady  _ thump  _ of his heartbeat and lets one of her hands trail lightly over the muscles of his chest. They twitch under her touch, even while he’s asleep, and she presses her face into her other arm to keep from laughing. She moves her hand lower to where his is resting on his stomach and laces her fingers between his, smiling when he subconsciously gives a light squeeze.

His hands are maybe her favourite part of him (or one of, at least), aside from his bright and expressive eyes. She likes the way hers tuck snugly into his palms. She likes that now she knows how to get them to unfurl when he has them balled up into tight fists of frustration. She knows now exactly where to push to work out the knots that develop in the muscles under his thumbs, exactly how far to dig her fingers in to make him moan softly and let his head loll back. She likes the way he often brushes the backs of his knuckles against her cheek before he kisses her, it’s become a little heads up as to what he’s about to do.

She likes that she knows exactly how powerful they are, and yet they've never been anything but soft and careful with her. For the most part anyway, and a subtle wave of heat rushes through her body when her mind replays the events of last night. One of his hands grasping her hip tightly and pulling her up against him not at all gently, the other wrapped around her wrists and pinning them down up above her head.

She runs her fingertips over the veins of his hand, down to his wrist and then back up and along the lengths of his fingers when suddenly his hand turns over and he laces their fingers together again. She glances up to see him awake and watching her, a small smile on his face. 

“Good morning.”

His voice is raspy with sleep, something she hasn’t heard from him before, and it takes a small effort to stop her mind from turning back to the previous night again at the sound of it.

“Morning.”

She replies softly, laying her head back down on his chest and listening to his heart beat once again. It's strange for him to be so content to stay in bed, and she thinks that if this is the result of him having gotten some extra sleep, she's going to have to figure out a way to make it happen more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	10. Candles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** Smut in this chapter, 18+ only.

It seemed like a good enough idea at the time. Felix had certainly been excited enough about it to get everyone involved. Even Adam. He’d even nagged at Jordan and Mason enough that they had agreed to help. But as it turns out, perhaps Adam doesn’t know as much about wiring as he’d thought.

The Christmas lights Felix had wanted had lasted about eight seconds before shutting down the power in the entire Warehouse. Luckily backup generators had kicked in a few seconds later to power the necessities. Unfortunately, the bedrooms were not deemed to be a necessity.

Jordan sits on the edge of Adam’s bed, swinging her legs and watching Adam pace in front of her, trying to work out how he could’ve gotten it so wrong with the lights. It bothers him to fail at something, it bothers him far too much in her opinion. He’s been dwelling on it for half an hour and she remembers how much this perfectionist side of him annoys her.

"It's not a big deal."

He stops in front of her and frowns at her attempt at reassurance, the candlelight softly flickering from his nightstand only just lighting his face.

"I assured Felix I could help him, and failed to deliver."

She grins at him, reaching forward to hook her fingers under his belt and pulling him closer to her.

"Failed to deliver, huh?"

His frown deepens as he watches her toy with his belt buckle, completely oblivious to her innuendo.

"Yes."

"You wanna redeem yourself and come through for me now?"

"I was not aware that you wanted some-"

Jordan slowly unbuckling his belt cuts his sentence off and realisation dawns on his face, right before he glances over towards his door.

"The electricity could come back on at any moment."

He warns her, and she shrugs up at him, moving one hand to palm him lightly through his pants while the other pulls his belt loose and starts on the button and zipper of his pants.

"Is there something pressing you need to attend to once it does?"

"I need-"

"I swear, if you're about to tell me you're picking Felix and his lights over me and a blow job right now I'm gonna bite you."

She cuts him off as she gets his pants open and pushes his shirt up, leaning forward to press a kiss just under his belly button. He's silent for a moment as she pushes his pants and underwear down, placing light kisses behind them as she goes. His hand runs through her hair before he grips a handful and forces her head back to look up at him.

"I really ought to help Felix with those lights, though."

She raises an eyebrow as she takes him into her hand and strokes him slowly, tightening her grip when she feels him start to stiffen.

"You want to be bitten, Commanding Agent?"

"As they say, what's good for one is good for the other."

She grins and wraps her legs around his, bringing him closer to her and running her tongue up the underside of his shaft. He lets out a light hiss when she bites down on his head, holding his breath for a moment and then letting it out in a low groan as her tongue swipes over where her teeth had been before she takes him into her mouth.

She looks up as she pushes herself onto him as far as she can, wrapping her fingers around the base of his shaft that she can't quite manage to get in her mouth. She can barely see him, he's blocking the limited light from the candle, but she knows he can see her perfectly. She gives him a small wink, keeping her eyes on his face as she pulls herself back off of him, her tongue swirling around his head before she starts bobbing on him slowly.

Her eyes fall closed and she moans around him when she feels him twitching in her mouth, her hands coming to rest on his thighs as he uses his hand in her hair to guide her on and off of him. He's not very vocal for the most part beyond the odd groan or grunt, or the slightly higher pitched and breathier, slightly frantic noises he makes when he finishes, but she loves getting him to this point all the same.

She loves the feel of him losing control, and knowing she's the one that got him that way. The way his hands tremble as they grip onto her, trying so hard to keep control of them and maintain some kind of composure, but ultimately failing every time. The way he can't keep his hips from rocking into her like they are right now, forcing himself further down her throat until she's almost choking on him. She loves how  _ desperate  _ he gets for her.

As if to prove her point his hands move to either side of her face, fingers splayed out across her cheeks and his thumbs resting down against thr front of her neck, holding her still as he starts fucking into her mouth more forcefully. A loud groan escapes him when he pulls her towards him at the same time, his cock sliding further down her throat where his thumbs are resting and he holds her there until she starts to gag, her throat clenching around him.

He gasps and pulls her off of him a little, holding her in place again as the movement of his hips becomes jerky, slight grunts escaping him as he gets close.

"Irrumabo…"

His groan fades out to a low growl, his breath hitching as she starts roughly jerking the base of his dick. She glances up at him, wishing she could see his face as well as she knows he can see hers, and his hands slide back to thread his fingers into her hair when he starts to come.

She slides her free hand up his chest and rests it over his heart, feeling it thumping rapidly against her palm as she swallows around him and his hands slide down to her shoulders and then away when he starts to come down.

She pulls her mouth away and grins up at him, stroking him a few more times before letting go completely and leaning back on her hands.

"See? You can still help with the lights."

She says with a smirk and he chuckles before leaning over to blow the candle out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	11. Myth

Jordan's not quite sure how she got here. One minute she and Felix were in the study brushing up on her knowledge of some of the supernaturals she had yet to encounter, and now they're in her room. Her laptop sits open on her bed in front of them. Playing Twilight.  _ Of all things. _

Felix is laughing. A lot. At times so hard that he's on his side curled up and clutching at his stomach, his eyes shining with tears.

"I still can't believe that  _ this  _ is what humans think they know about us."

He gasps out between laughter and Jordan watches him in amusement.

"Not most humans."

"This is still the best vampire movie I've seen yet."

His laughter dies down to a soft chuckle as he turns his attention back to the screen.

"How disappointed are you that we don't sparkle?"

He grins over at her. The suggestion throws her an image that makes her laugh and she flops down onto her stomach, burying her face into her arms to stifle it.

"Can you imagine Adam and Mason glittering?"

"They'd never go outside!"

Felix joins her in laughing, laying down next to her and half heartedly watching the movie.

"I don't know what I expected when I found out."

She admits after a moment and Felix's laughter dies off a little.

"We didn't know what to expect from you either."

A small grin forms on his face and he leans over to nudge her shoulder with his.

"You took it like a legend though."

They both glance up when a knock on her door draws their attention.

"Yeah?"

Jordan calls, and it opens slowly before Adam walks in.

"I have been looking for you."

He tells Felix sternly, his gaze flickering between the two of them and the laptop before he frowns.

"What are you doing?"

Jordan grins and points at the laptop.

"I'm learning all there is to know about vampires."

Adam raises an eyebrow skeptically and makes his way around the bed, standing beside Jordan and staring blankly at the screen.

"This is a joke."

He says after a moment, and Jordan's unsure whether he's asking her or telling her.

"We should play baseball!"

Felix blurts out suddenly, sitting back up straight and pointing at the screen.

"Why?"

Felix's lips turn up into a sly smirk as he looks up at Adam.

"We could play with Alpha."

Finally Adam's expression changes from the blank, unimpressed stare he's been wearing since coming into the room and he scowls down at him.

"I suppose dogs  _ are  _ skilled at chasing balls."

He finally answers, no small amount of disdain dripping from his words. Jordan holds back a chuckle and glares playfully at Felix.

"Vampires and werewolves don't get along, haven't you been paying attention?"

"Please do not take parts of this film and apply them to us."

Adam cuts in before Felix can answer, and Jordan gives a shrug.

"You do have some kind of beef with The Dogs for no reason."

"I have a reason."

"What's the reason?"

Felix leans over to whisper, loudly and dramatically before Adam can answer.

"We don't talk about A coming before B in your alphabet, but  _ that's  _ the reason."

Jordan coughs to cover her laughter and glances back up at Adam, who appears mildly infuriated by the conversation. She reaches out for his hand, working her fingers into the tight fist that he's made and forcing him to loosen it.

She knows that Unit Alpha is a touchy subject for him, and as much as she wants to laugh and tease him about it more she knows that it's probably not wise unless she wants to deal with him being in a sullen mood for the rest of the day.

"One thing about this movie is true, though."

He rolls his eyes just slightly and arches an eyebrow at her, obviously awaiting more mockery.

"Which one thing would that be?"

"The girl falling for the vampire."

His eyes soften the smallest amount and the scowl on his face gives way to a hint of a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	12. Forest

It's not as dark, not as damp, not as eerie as the Black Forest, but the woods around the Warehouse always make Adam think of Jordan. How things used to be between him and Jordan specifically, because most everything makes him think of her in some way these days.

He has never really been one for peaceful strolls through the woods unless there was a point to it, but lately he finds himself more and more drawn to such places. He doesn't want to lose sight of what their relationship used to be, of how far they've come. Of how far  _ he  _ has come.

It had taken a while, even by his standards. Months before he would admit even briefly to only himself what the feelings Jordan stirred inside of him were. Even then it had taken something significant for him to properly acknowledge them, even if by that point everyone else seemed to already know. Then still months after that before they had progressed from that first kiss - a frantic, desperate and abrupt thing, the first thing he hadn't truly thought out in possibly decades - to something much more deliberate and patient and subtle between them now.

It would be easy to fall into a tendency to only think of them as they are now, to forget the pain and the longing that had plagued him for so long as he fought his feelings, but he feels that doing so would almost cheapen what they have become.

He is almost in awe of how quickly his walls had crumbled once Jordan had chipped away enough to slightly crack them. She didn't even seem to realise she was doing it, let alone seem to be trying for it.

He’s never subscribed to the notion that people could be made for each other, but if he did, he would most definitely say that she has been somehow made for him. She pushes him just the right amount and she knows when to stop. She is not afraid to be herself around him, and nor does she expect him to be someone different around her. She does not take him away from who he is, only seems to enhance everything about him, and not in all of his long years can he remember someone doing that for him.

That’s not to say that he’s never been in love before. It’s been quite a while, but he most definitely has. But he cannot remember ever having  _ this  _ before, and the fact that it comes from somebody like Jordan is almost enough to make him chuckle.

He really should have known that there was something different about her right from the start, in that moment at the factory where they’d first met. The way such authority and confidence radiated from such a small person, the way she stood her ground despite being heavily outnumbered by people twice her size, the way she not once faltered, and then the way she’d shot him without a second thought.

At the time he’d thought her irritating, and the idea of having to protect her and work with her on the Murphy case had made his heart sink and his head hurt, though at the same time it had given him a small rush, knowing that their unfortunate encounter at the factory was not to be the last time he would see her. He didn’t recognise it at the time, but now he supposes that he  _ had  _ seen something different in her. Something he wanted to spend more time with and get to know.

Now that he does, he can always feel her. She’s a bigger part of him than he’d ever expected her to be and the feeling makes the thud of his heart almost deafening, as though it’s working twice as hard to pump Jordan through his veins as well as his own blood.

He still holds the same fears that he did in the beginning - before the beginning - though. There are still times that he remembers why it had taken him so long to accept his feelings, to accept hers, and to do something about them. He is still afraid that he will hurt her, or that she will one day decide that she’s made a terrible mistake and hurt him.

And though he tries not to think about it, he also knows that one day she will do more than hurt him. He knows there will inevitably come a day when she leaves him, whether by choice or not, and he knows that that day will destroy him. The more time he spends with her, the closer he gets to her, the more savage it will be when that day rips his heart out. And the thought of that crosses his mind and increases the slight doubt that he has about their future more often than he’s comfortable admitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	13. Snow

“It’s snowing!”

Felix’s shriek seems to echo through the entire Warehouse, the sound of rushed footsteps - he’s obviously running - following close behind.

With a grin, Jordan glances to Adam who just looks back at her, no expression whatsoever on his face. She sighs and rolls her eyes, pulling her legs from where they’re resting on his lap and getting to her feet.

“Did you hear? It’s snowing.”

She explains, as though it was an explanation at all, and holds a hand out to him. He eyes it warily then slowly looks back up at her again.

“The entirety of Wayhaven heard.”

“So? Come on.”

“Come on what?”

“I promised Felix I’d teach him to make a snowman and snow angels the next time it snowed.”

Adam raises a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, his heavy sigh interrupted by Jordan grabbing his hand and trying to pull him up with her. She’s failing, and he just lifts an eyebrow in response to her efforts.

“Why would you do such a thing?”

“Because it’ll be fun, come  _ on.” _

She complains, trying for a few more seconds to get him to stand up and then giving up, letting go of his hand and letting it fall back down onto his leg.

“Fine. I have a promise to keep.”

She says stubbornly, not sounding unlike a sulking child and he thinks for a moment she’s actually going to stick her tongue out at him, but she simply turns around and walks out of the games room. He hears her and Felix talking enthusiastically, the sound getting quieter the further away they get until he can’t hear them at all.

He stays where he is for a moment. The idea of going outside when he doesn’t need to while it’s freezing cold and snowing does not appeal to him, his disdain only increasing when he hears the wind carrying Jordan's and Felix's laughter through the air to his closed window. He doesn't feel as strongly about it as Mason, but he despises the cold.

But then again, the thought of watching Jordan laughing with Felix is often too tempting to pass up. He knows that with him she will not often be able to have that kind of fun, the kind of fun she has with Felix, the way she seems to adore doing every so often, but he does love to watch her.

He can already picture her, her cheeks and nose bright red with a combination of laughter and cold and be damned if that isn't motivation enough to get him on his feet, dressed warmly and headed outside.

Sure enough, by the time he gets outside there’s already two thirds of a snowman constructed and Jordan is rolling snow into a head-ball. Felix lays on the ground beside her, arms and legs flailing wildly.

Nate and Mason stand on either side of the Warehouse door, Nate watching on with an amused smile on his face and Mason huddled up and shivering, a cigarette dangling between his fingers. He arches an eyebrow at Adam and nods towards Felix and Jordan.

"You have to do something about this."

He says simply, and Adam frowns at him.

"About what?"

"Her teaching him things, and him wanting all of us to be involved."

"What do you propose I do?"

Mason shrugs, finishing his cigarette and flicking it away.

"Figure it out,  _ almighty leader." _

He drawls the title Felix often uses playfully with a smirk before turning and stalking back inside.

"I think it's sweet that they have each other to have fun with like this."

Nate states after a moment, just before Jordan comes barreling up to them both, flying into Adam and slipping her hands into his coat, splaying her fingers out on his back.

He gasps and moves to take a step away from her, realising in an instant that she hasn't worn her gloves to play in the snow, but she steps with him and lays her head on his chest, her hands still pressed to his back.

"You did not wear your gloves."

"No. I did not."

"Unwise."

"Very."

She grins up at him and scratches at his back lightly.

"I can't reach the top of my snowman to put its head on."

Adam glances over at the half completed sculpture, then back down at Jordan.

"It surprises me that you have made it so tall when you are of less than average height."

The corners of his mouth twitch as he holds back a smirk and she narrows her eyes at him.

"Are you calling me short?"

"I would've thought it was obvious."

"Maybe  _ you're  _ just too tall."

Adam glances over at Nate, who looks to be trying to contain laughter.

"It is unlikely."

She pulls her hands out of his coat and waves the conversation away before pointing behind her to the snowman.

"Help please?"

He sighs heavily before following her over to it and helping her to finish constructing it. He despises the cold. But he now knows that it's much more bearable if he can endure it with Jordan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	14. Paper Airplanes

Felix gets a little fixated on things sometimes. He knows it, and the rest of Unit Bravo know it. He supposes he understands why they try to keep certain fads away from him, and perhaps it's for the best sometimes. Like when Jordan had shown him what happens when you drop a Mentos into a bottle of Coke. The kitchen was a sticky mess.

So he's revisiting the paper plane in a big way. Sitting at a table in the common room, a stack of paper and a caddy of pencils in front of him, carefully folding his third different spin on the basic plane Jordan had taught him all that time ago. The two brightly coloured completed planes sit to the side, ready to proudly show Jordan when she inevitably shows up some time this afternoon.

She's here  _ a lot  _ these days, and while he knows the frequency of her visits are entirely due to her and Adam finally working themselves out, he likes having her around. She never judges him for becoming hyper-focused on these things. She seems to get that he's not necessarily trying to be childish or annoying, he just feels that he's missed out on a lot.

He doesn't share Adam and Mason's view on humans. In fact he would even go so far as to say he loves them and their quirky ways of having fun - the human children especially. Perhaps it's because he's never been one, or perhaps it's because since coming through the portal he wasn't allowed to interact with them face to face until recently. Either way, he wants to learn all about them. He wants to be able to relate to them, and whether it's deliberate or not Jordan teaching him these things are helping him do it.

He can smell the slight hint of cigarette smoke clinging to clothing before the door even opens and prepares himself to defend his latest undertaking without looking up from the plane he's just about finished as Mason walks into the room. He frowns as the other vampire’s hip leans against the table, bumping it slightly.

"You're still at that?"

Mason waits until Felix has finished folding and has set the plane on the small pile with the others before speaking.

"Uh huh."

Is the only response he gets as Felix continues to wait for a berating comment. He takes another piece of paper from the stack and glances at Mason.

"Nothing else to say?"

He asks incredulously when it doesn't come, and Mason shrugs.

"Like what?"

Felix just stares at him for a moment before reaching up to feel his forehead, Mason predictably smacking his hand away.

"Are you sick or something?"

"What?"

Mason snaps, taking a step away from the table so that Felix can't reach him.

"What's wrong with you? Since when do you not have an issue with me doing  _ kid stuff?" _

He imitates Mason's annoyed growl as he says the last words with a grin. Mason just shrugs again and Felix shakes his head, tutting.

"Don't tell me our Detective's making you soft as well? First Adam, now you."

"She's never made me  _ soft.  _ Quite the opposite actually. _ " _

Mason replies with a smirk, but it quickly fades when he realises what he's said without thinking and Felix frowns at him.

"You can't make jokes like that about her anymore."

"I know, I know. Habit."

There's quiet for a moment as Felix lightly folds lines into the piece of paper in front of him, then unfolds it again to start colouring it in.

"She's certainly changed a lot around here, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You working with a human and enjoying it, Adam falling for a human and enjoying it, not to mention…"

He trails off and gestures to his pile of planes.

"Yeah, she's alright."

Mason admits, and Felix's shock at the simple statement makes him look up so fast he almost tips his chair backwards. It doesn't sound like much but that's a glowing endorsement from Mason, who just rolls his eyes at Felix's obvious surprise and walks back out of the room - presumably before he can say anything else moving about Jordan.

She has definitely changed a lot for them. It's not that they weren't happy before she came along. Felix has long thought of the rest of Unit Bravo as his family, he cherishes them as he had his mother before he lost her. But Jordan has added something that they were missing. She's made Adam open up a little and be willing to enjoy himself more, she's made the sullen moods that Nate used to find himself in when something would remind him of his past less frequent, she's introduced Felix to everything that he'd missed, everything that helps him feel closer to her and to humans in general. And now it seems that she's even somehow tamed the beast that is Mason, however subtly.

He wouldn't have thought a team of vampires would need it to be at their most productive until Jordan added the touch of humanity and wonder that they were missing when she joined their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	15. Wonderland

The entire town has been decorated for Christmas - the street light poles are wrapped in tinsel, various scenes and generic ornaments painted on every store window with spray snow and in the centre of the town square stands a fifteen foot tall Christmas tree adorned with enough lights that they make Mason cringe when they round the corner and find themselves face to face with it.

Jordan isn’t fond of patrolling at the best of times, let alone when everywhere she looks the festive season is in her face, almost as though it’s taunting her. She pulls a face with a groan as they walk past the tree and Mason shoots her a frown.

“What’s your problem?”

She doesn’t answer, just waves a hand in the air, gesturing to the town in general around them.

"Yeah. Me too."

He mutters in response, and silence falls between them for a few moments before he speaks again.

"It's a bit much, you know? The lights, the songs, the  _ cheer _ , the… hyperactivity."

Jordan doesn't quite know what to say for a while. It's been months since she and Mason ended their, well, their whatever it was and since then she's gotten nothing from him, confirming what she'd had an inkling of all along. He's never had an interest in developing any kind of a meaningful relationship with her other than a professional one.

She's tried, but things have been awkward between them for a long while. Not because one or the other of them feels spurned, but she suspects that in the beginning they both had felt at least slightly guilty for having carried on with what they were doing once they found out that it had been eating at Adam nearly the whole time. She’s made things right with Adam now, and she knows that Mason has too, but there still remains a certain discomfort between them whenever they’re alone together.

His admission, however small it might be, is the first time he’s opened up to her since she met him, and a small glimmer of hope comes to light in her mind; maybe all is not lost for the two of them after all. It’s been a thorn in her side really, having been able to develop decent connections with everyone but him, and she’d been starting to lose hope, almost ready to give up and consider it a lost cause.

“For me it just reminds me of my mother.”

She begins carefully, feeling somewhat like a hunter waiting patiently in the bushes. Too fast of a movement, too bold of a statement, and she knows she’s going to scare him off and put him on the defensive.

“How she was never home for it.”

He glances over at her as she finishes her thought, and she waits for the off-handed comment telling her to stop whining, but it doesn’t come.

“It’s gotta be a rough gig.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her job.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

It’s nothing Nate hasn’t said to her before, though in far more words. Even Adam has tried to convince her to go easy on her mother a couple of times, and usually it annoys her. It sounds somehow different coming from Mason, though. Mason, who has no real feelings for anyone that he would ever let anyone see. Mason who has shown nothing but contempt for humans and their relationships in all the time she’s known him. Mason who would rather cut off his left arm than be caught harbouring any kind of emotions for anyone in the open.

Hearing him sympathise with Rebecca somehow hits differently, and she hears him a little more clearly that she’s heard any of the others when they’ve told her the same thing. Maybe it’s the virtual Christmas wonderland around them that suddenly doesn’t seem quite so unbearable, or maybe it’s the fact that she can almost feel the shroud of awkwardness lifting from above hers and Mason’s heads, but she finds that not only is she not angry about him offering up his (however vague) opinion on the matter of her and Rebecca, but she’s even considering that perhaps he’s right.

“Either way, it does neither of you or any of us any good for you to be at her throat every time you see her. Might be worth calming down a bit.”

He adds when she doesn’t immediately go off on a tangent about it not being his business, and she realises that maybe he has been just as reluctant to start a conversation with her as she has been with him for the same reason. Maybe they have both just been going about how to approach their ‘friendship’ in an entirely ineffective way, when really all they needed to do was spend a little bit of time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	16. Dancing

Adam does not enjoy this. At least that’s the image he’s trying to project as he sits up straight on his seat at the bar, glass of red in his hand, and eyes fixed to where Jordan and Tina are dancing together. He’s gripping his wine glass just a touch tighter than usual as he watches them grinding up on each other, feeling a slight flush wash over his face as he remains transfixed on the way Jordan’s body rolls against the other woman’s.

It’s not sexual, not even a little, he can tell by the way both of them are laughing and the way one of them will stop every now and then to do what Mason had complained was ‘80’s dance move bullshit’. She’s just having fun, and perhaps a while ago he wouldn’t have seen it as anything more than that. Now though, now he has a very vivid and real picture in his mind of what she looks like rolling her body like that up into him and he swallows hard before forcing himself to look away. It will not do to allow such thoughts to take over his mind in such a public place.

His attention is drawn back when Felix bounds over to them and shimmies his way in between them, Jordan hanging off of his back as he places his hands on Tina’s hips and moves with them. A small frown settles on Adam’s face; he does not approve of the  _ crush  _ or whatever it is that Felix feels towards the Officer. But then again, he did not approve of the own feelings he harbours for Jordan until recently. And so far, that was working out quite well.

More than quite well, even. So well that he has not one bad thing to say about the fact that she has barely left his side unless she’s absolutely had to. She spends most nights at the Warehouse, in  _ his  _ room rather than her own. She spends the majority of the day with him unless she is called back to the station or out on Wayhaven Police Department business. And now it would even seem that she wishes for him to accompany her when she goes out socially as well.

He straightens a little more, swallowing down the last of the wine in his glass as she and Felix come back towards him, arms linked together until they stop in front of him and Felix lets go of her to go and talk to Mason.

“Dance with me?”

Jordan keeps a careful distance from him, and he frowns again at her request. Things like this are… difficult. They are still trying to keep their relationship from the Agency, from her mother, and he doesn’t want someone like the Mayor or his son to see them together and report what would be seen as suspicious behaviour back. An even greater concern is that he has no way of knowing what supernaturals might be around, he doesn’t know who might see them and recognise him and put together a way to get to him. It’s the whole reason behind him taking so long to admit his feelings for her, and it’s a large part of him insisting on them staying private, though he is yet to tell Jordan that part of it. He doesn’t know how he would live with himself if something were to happen to her as a way of getting to him.

But  _ merde,  _ it’s difficult to say no when she’s looking up at him with wide eyes, face flushed and breathless from dancing with her friend.

“I cannot.”

He manages, and she pouts at him.

“Cannot, or  _ will not?” _

She challenges, and a small smile tugs at his mouth at her stubbornness.

“Cannot.”

“Are you telling me that you, Commanding Agent Adam du Mortain, can’t dance?”

She raises an eyebrow at him and crosses her arms over her chest, and he fights to keep his smile from growing wider.

“Not like that, no.”

He gestures towards where she and Tina had been previously, and she rolls her eyes at him just as the song changes.

“Ooh, look. Slow song, come on.”

“Detective…”

She scowls at the formal acknowledgement and unfolds her arms to grab one of his hands and tug at it.

“ _ Agent.” _

She responds in kind and he finds himself sliding off of his seat and going with her as she backs up, pulling him along.

“Colleagues can dance. A dance is nothing.”

She tries to reassure him, and he knows that for anyone looking in from the outside she is probably right. After all, she and Tina had just been dancing and no one had raised an eyebrow at it. But he also knows that for the two of them, it is most definitely not nothing. Being close to her is never nothing.

She finally stops leading him and reaches up to drape her arms casually over his shoulders. He lets out a barely audible sigh at the fact that she’s managed to persuade him so easily once again and places his hands lightly on her waist as they start moving together, but he barely notices the music now that his hands are on her. She smooths hers down over his shoulders and gives him a small smile.

“Relax. No one’s going to think anything’s going on.”

He gives a small nod and returns her smile, deliberately ignoring everyone around them and focusing on her and the way she’s looking at him.

Until now he’s been fine with keeping what is between them only between them and Unit Bravo, but now he finds himself hoping that one day they will no longer need to keep their relationship a secret. He hopes that he will be able to dance with her like this and not have to fight the urge to kiss her for fear of someone seeing them. One day, he hopes to be able to let everybody know that she is his and he is hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	17. Vacation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** Smut in this chapter, 18+ only.

It's their first simultaneous day off since arriving home from Germany, and one of very few individual days off in the same time, and Jordan's determined to spend at least two thirds of it in bed. Preferably with Adam, but that had been touch and go this morning when he’d awakened ready to get up and face the day. She'd just about had to koala cling to his side to prevent him from leaving her.

He seems to have very much changed his tune now though. He has her on her knees perched up on the pillows at the top of his bed, pressed up against the wall behind it by his weight against her back as his hips roll against hers, fucking her slow and deep.

One hand is holding her hips in place for him and the other is firmly pressed on top of hers against the wall, holding them in place too.

It’s different this time - he knows they have a full day to kill and that this is how she wants to spend it, so he's taking his time with her. She's lost track of how long they've been at it, or how many times now he's brought her to the edge only to gently coax her back down again.

Her head rests back on his shoulder, powerless to do anything but stay exactly how he wants her. She knows he'd stop in a second if she asked him to, she's needed to a couple of times before, but she can't ever remember sex feeling as good as it does right now as he moulds her into the position he wants and then holds her there. She doesn't want any of it to stop, knowing that her body makes him feel so good that he can't help but lose control a little gets her off more than anything else.

Her eyes fall closed as she curses under the breath up at the ceiling. Her whole body feels alight, trembling in his grip in anticipation of whether he's going to let her come this time or cut her off again.

Apparently it's the latter, and she can't tell if she loves it or hates it when his hips stop. He stays exactly like he is, fully buried in her and still pressed against her back as he runs his tongue up the side of her neck before biting down lightly.

"Are you ready?"

He murmurs into her ear, and this time she has to think about it for a minute. Her hands ball into fists under his and she shakes her head slightly. She wants to come - badly - but she doesn't want them to be done now that she's finally got him to herself for a whole day. And if she's completely honest with herself, she's  _ really  _ liking this side of Adam. This side that seems dedicated to making her feel as good as possible without pushing her over the edge, the side that she is for some reason completely willing to allow to dominate her. When he’s like this, she would do pretty much whatever he wants.

"No?"

"More."

She groans out, unable to reach for him or push back against him or  _ anything  _ with the way he's holding her. She's completely at his mercy and she  _ fucking loves  _ it. Their first couple of times together had been awkward and rushed and the amount of time that had passed since he'd been with someone had been all too clear. It must be true what they say though: it's just like riding a bike, because it didn't take him long to remember what he was doing.

"I'm not going to let you finish until you tell me you want it."

He growls as he slowly starts moving his hips again, and her head turns to press her face against his neck to muffle her moan. He turns as well to press his lips to hers in a quick kiss before pulling away.

"Let me hear you."

He mutters, his own words starting to shake. His body's trembling almost as much as hers as he keeps himself under control, keeps his hips moving slowly against her and keeps his firm grip on her hands and her hip.

It doesn’t take long this time, and she’s had enough, her hands fidgeting under his as her body tenses up and her breaths start to come out in small, frantic pants.

“You have to tell me what you want.”

His voice is barely above a whisper and she swallows hard, trying to control her breathing enough to get the words out. There’s a small hint of warning in his tone, letting her know that he’s prepared to stop again if she doesn’t give him what he wants.

“I want to come, please.”

She almost sobs the words out and his lips are on her neck again, still holding her tightly as his hips move a little more deliberately into her, finally sending her over the edge. She can barely even moan, her mouth hanging open and her head lolling back onto his shoulder again as he slowly works her through her orgasm until she slumps a little heavier back against him. He pulls out with a groan and moves back away from her a little, hands moving to her shoulders to turn her around to face him.

She struggles to open her eyes, too blissed out to really know what’s happening as he pushes her down onto her back and lowers himself on top of her, still pressing kisses to her neck and along her shoulder.

“We’re not done yet, Detective.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	18. Supernatural

She drives him mad, and not in a good way. Well, not  _ always  _ in a good way anyway. There's been a possible sighting of a supernatural just outside of town, but he and Nate are to meet with Rebecca at the Agency so Adam has been asked to send two others. Jordan thus far is being an intolerable brat over the fact that she is not one of the said others.

She stands before him, arms crossed over her chest defiantly and scowling at him. Their argument has been going on for a while now, even Felix looks to be beginning to tire of it.

"Why are you being such a prick?"

"I am not being a  _ prick.” _

“Actually you are.”

“I am trying to ensure your safety.”

It’s not an entirely outrageous premise, not in his opinion. Why would he send a human into a potentially dangerous situation in place of a vampire? Not to mention the perhaps much more relevant question that he doesn’t dare say out loud - why would he send  _ his  _ human into potential danger when he cannot be there to protect her?

It’s not that he doesn’t trust her, nor is it that he lacks trust in Mason or Felix to have her back. He promptly orders those thoughts away though when they make it glaringly obvious even to him that he has no good reason to keep her off of this mission. She's a better choice than Felix, and he knows that she and Mason have been getting along better and make an excellent team.

She's still talking when he forces himself back into the moment, her arms now uncrossed and gesticulating wildly as she grows more and more frustrated with him and his decision. It's endearing in a strange way, and he has to consciously stop himself from zoning out again and just watching her become angry with him.

He's always respected that she stands her ground against him, and he loves that it hasn't been one of things that's changed between them. Indeed, they've had several arguments in the months since things had been steadily developing between them; a few of them loud enough to give the hint to the rest of Unit Bravo to stay away. She's not afraid to yell at him, and it's perhaps one of his favourite things about her.

"-good reason, can you?"

She's asked him a question, and he inwardly curses at himself for not having been paying attention.

"What?"

" _ I said:  _ you can't give me one good reason why I shouldn't go with Mason."

"Why are you so determined to go?"

"I wasn't until I realised you only don't want me to for stupid reasons."

"What reasons are you implying that I have?”

“You think I can’t handle it.”

Adam lets out an exasperated sigh and lifts a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“I did not say that.”

“You don’t need to say it, I know what you think of me. I’m weak, and reckless, too  _ human.” _

She drags the last word out and it almost makes him wince, knowing that he’s said those exact things before - before there was anything between them, before he knew for sure that she was anything but weak - but he manages to keep control of himself.

“It is true that being human means that it will not be a fair fight between you and whatever supernatural you may encounter-”

He begins, but she lets out a loud scoff to cut him off.

“I knew it! You know that I can hold my own against him-”

She flings an arm out in Mason’s direction.

“-and you know I can handle you.”

She adds, a small smirk on her face and one eyebrow arched challengingly, and dammit if he doesn’t feel his face flush in front of everyone at her words. He shoots a glare in Mason’s direction, and sure enough the other vampire closes his mouth before saying whatever it was he was about to say and just smirks at him.

“That is not- this is an entirely different situation.”

Her smirk widens into a grin when she realises she’s flustered him. It would be easier to just tell her his reasons. He doesn’t want to put her in danger because he doesn’t want anything to happen to her. More than not wanting anything to happen to her - he couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to her. And the fact that such things are changing his decisions so drastically is only proving his own point from when he was still doubting that getting involved with her was a good idea.

He doesn’t want to admit that getting close to her is affecting his ability to lead his Unit efficiently. It’s causing him to make selfish decisions based on his own feelings rather than what is the best course of action for the Unit as a whole. It’s more than a fear of feeling guilty if things were to go awry, it’s more than a generic fear of his decision being the cause of something awful to happen to her. It’s the fear of being left with only the part of her that still flows through his veins. The fear of never again waking up with her, of never being able to hold her again, of never again having her standing before him so stubbornly trying to convince him that she can handle whatever he throws her way. And he knows that that fear is not an acceptable way to make professional or tactical decisions.

“You may accompany Mason and Felix.”

He finally sighs out, ignoring the sniggering from the two agents mentioned. She has him wrapped around her little finger and they all know it, no matter how hard he tries to act as though he is unaffected by her.

“Thank you.”

There’s a finality to her words that makes him look up, finding her grinning at him still.

“You are insufferable.”

He comments with a shake of his head as he starts to leave the room.

“Yeah but you love me this way.”

She calls after him and he falters as he steps out of the door before walking down the hall. If only she knew how true that statement was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	19. Cooking

“You’re doing that incorrectly.”

“Says who?”

“Me.”

“So, says someone that doesn’t eat?”

“Yes.”

“How would you know?”

“Because-”

“It was bloody rhetorical, Adam. Go away.”

Jordan glares over her shoulder at him, and he raises his hands in front of him and takes a backwards step away from her.

“If you’d rather do it incorrectly than take the advice offered then that’s your prerogative.”

“Why are you even here?”

“Would you rather I not be?”

“If all you’re going to do is give me shit, then yes.”

“I’m not giving you… I am simply trying to ensure this evening goes as well as possible.”

Jordan just sighs and turns her attention back to the vegetables she's cutting. She hadn't actually expected Rebecca to accept an invitation to her apartment for dinner: she'd only asked to get Nate off of her back about family being important.

Now she's stuck preparing a meal for a woman she's  _ never  _ gotten along with, and for some reason Adam is here.

She would normally not complain about Adam's presence in her apartment, but this all seems a bit strange. They've agreed to keep their relationship from Rebecca for as long as they can manage it, and she's not sure she's going to be able to control the way she looks at him or acts around him in a setting as intimate as her small round dining table.

"Are you planning on staying the whole night?"

"Yes."

"So you've invited yourself to a dinner you can't eat?"

She places the last of the food she's prepared onto her stove and turns to face him, seeing him frowning at her.

"I thought you may be in need of support."

He answers, the gentle note to his words surprising her. She slides along the kitchen counter a little to get away from the stove and hoists herself up onto the bench.

"You're going to stay to support me?"

"Does that surprise you?"

"To be honest I thought you were here to make sure I didn't say anything stupid and make a bigger mess of things."

He steps up to her, pushing her legs open and coming to stand between them, his hands cupping her face.

"Not getting along with your mother is not making a mess of things."

He tells her firmly and she nods, lifting her hands up to rest them on top of his. She turns to press a kiss to his palm before moving his hands off of her face.

“Thank you.”

"There is no need to thank-"

A knock at the door signaling Rebecca's arrival cuts him off and he takes a reluctant step away from her.

"Would you like me to answer it?"

Jordan lets out a heavy sigh and slides off of the counter.

"Please."

She mutters, turning back to her cooking as Adam goes to greet Rebecca. She can hear them talking, can hear the surprise in Rebecca's voice when she sees that Adam is here, and her stomach flips with nerves as she realises how easily they could reveal their secret tonight.

Adam is muttering something about having come to speak with Jordan about work as they walk into the kitchen and she forces a smile to her face and turns to face them.

She tenses when Rebecca leans in to hug her, her arms remaining at her sides and yet it still takes Rebecca a moment to let go of her.

"I must say, I'm surprised to see you two alone together."

She remarks, looking between the two of them suspiciously. Jordan feels her face flush and she quickly turns back to her cooking to hide it.

"It's no secret at the Warehouse that the two of you don't get along."

She adds, and Jordan can't help but smirk at that, grateful that she has her back to Rebecca. 

“We have been making more of an effort.”

Adam replies after a moment, and even Jordan doesn’t believe it. There’s far too much affection in his voice, affection that she’s not sure she would’ve even noticed if not for her already being paranoid that something they do is going to give them away at any moment. She glances over her shoulder to see that Rebecca doesn’t seem to have noticed though, she’s just smiling at him proudly, as though two of her children have found a way to stop fighting and play nicely together.

That thought makes her smile as well and turn around again. She’s probably got that part right: they definitely play a lot nicer together nowadays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	20. Ugly Sweater

Jordan stands before Unit Bravo after having summoned them all together to give them the gifts she’d gotten for them. At least that’s what she told them she was doing. Really what she’s giving them is a practical joke and she can barely keep the smile off of her face as she watches them opening the carefully wrapped “gifts”.

It’s a struggle to keep from bursting out laughing when she sees their faces as they finally get the wrapping paper peeled away, but she somehow manages to keep a straight face as she watches their reactions. Felix, as she predicted, is ecstatic and holds the item up in front of him with a grin on his face.

“My first ugly Christmas sweater!”   


He exclaims, his eyes shifting from the horrid knitted snowman on the sweater he’s holding to Jordan. He seems to see the difficulty she’s having with remaining serious straight away and a mischievous smile crosses his own face.

He jumps to his feet and pulls the sweater on over his clothes and Jordan's done for. She bursts out laughing and it's not long before Felix joins her.

She glances towards Nate who's staring at his sweater - a hideous reindeer knitted onto the front of it - in something close to horror, but his face is nothing compared to the expressions Adam and Mason are wearing.

"Something wrong?"

She asks Adam innocently, and he looks up from glaring at the monstrosity in his hands to frown at her.

"There is a lot wrong here."

He turns the sweater around to show her the Santa Claus picture on it, and she has to physically bring a hand up to cover her mouth to keep from laughing in his face.

"You cannot expect me to wear this."

"I can and I do."

"I am not wearing this."

"Sure you are."

"No. I am not."

"Just for a minute. Let me get a photo of you."

She pulls her phone from her back pocket and opens the camera, staring at Adam expectantly. She nods towards the sweater in his hands when he just stares back at her.

"Come on du Mortain, we don't have all day."

Adam turns and sets the sweater down on the couch behind him and then folds his arms across his chest.

"There is nothing you could do that would convince me to allow you to take a photograph of me wearing that."

"Nothing?"

He looks hesitant for a split second, but then shakes his head.

"Nothing."

Jordan rolls her eyes and looks to Mason, who shakes his head with a scowl before she can even say anything.

"Not a hope in Hell."

"You'd look so cute though!"

His scowl deepens - she didn't even think that was possible - and he actually growls at her.

"Where's yours?"

He throws back at her rather than answering, and she pulls a face as she looks at the elf on his sweater.

"Are you fucking kidding me? No way am I wearing one of those."

Mason unceremoniously tosses his sweater over his shoulder at that and pulls a cigarette out of his pocket.

"That's what I thought."

He mutters as he stalks away, and Jordan turns to Nate who's still eyeing his sweater with uncertainty.

"How about you?"

He looks up at her in surprise as though having forgotten that she was there.

"Oh! It's… really a lovely gesture. Perhaps at a later time?"

Jordan watches him in amusement as he neatly folds the garment and then places it down on the couch.

"It's a little itchy."

Felix admits, scratching at his wrists with a slight frown on his face.

"Oh my God, take it off you idiot!"

Jordan tells him with a small laugh, shaking her head as he hurriedly pulls the sweater off.

"I didn't think you'd actually put it on."

"So you bought us sweaters that you didn't intend for us to wear?"

Adam cuts in before Felix can reply, and Jordan grins at him.

"Sure did."

"That seems foolish."

"In case you've forgotten, I am foolish."

"I don't understand why you would purchase something you know will be of no use."

"Because the looks on your faces when you guys unwrapped them were fucking priceless."

She explains cheerfully before striding out of the room. She can hear Felix chuckling to himself as she goes.  _ At least one of them has a sense of humour  _ she thinks to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	21. Darkness

Jordan has brought a light to Adam's life that he never knew he was missing. For so long he's been happy, but just happy enough to keep going. There's always just enough happening to distract him from acknowledging how lonely he sometimes is. 

It's not that he doesn't enjoy working for the Agency, and it's not that he doesn't love the rest of Unit Bravo as though they were his brothers, but there's been something missing. For such a long time that he'd eventually forgotten that the hole in his life could be filled. He'd grown so accustomed to it that it's as though he'd felt that way his entire life.

Jordan filled that vacant spot in his life and without even trying she made everything infinitely better.

They still fight. A lot. Maybe more than people with feelings for each other should, but he likes it that way. He likes that she doesn't try to keep the peace with him, he likes that she is still her own person and that she expects the same from him. He especially likes that she trusts him enough to be able to get mad at him without being afraid to let him know it.

Today was different though, and he feels that familiar darkness creeping over him again. He feels her light fading and he knows that he's pushed it too far, done the one thing that she will not tolerate from him; made her feel as though he doesn’t trust her.

She hadn't even yelled at him. Hadn't called him an asshole like she usually does, and while normally he hates to hear her say such things, now he finds himself missing it, wishing that she would lose her cool and insult him. Instead she had barely even spoken to him. Just looked at him as though she didn't recognise him before turning her back on him and walking away and he couldn't help but notice the resolve in her quiet footsteps as she left. The finality.

“Really?”

He looks over his shoulder at the sound of Mason’s voice and lets out a heavy sigh.

“You heard us.”

He states rather than asks as Mason comes to stand beside him and lights a cigarette. 

“Felix told me.”

_ Of course he did _ . Adam fights the urge to groan and keeps his gaze fixed on the driveway leading up to the Warehouse, as though he thinks that if he stares at it hard enough, for long enough that he will see the small hatchback making it’s way back.

“You know there’s nothing-”

“I know.”

Adam interrupts him, not wanting to get into the same conversation again. He knows quite well that there is no longer anything going on between Mason and Jordan, and it baffles him just as much as it seems to baffle everyone else that he had reacted in such a way when he’d seen them together in the training room, Mason with his arms wrapped around her from behind and Jordan almost doubled over with laughter.

He is not jealous, not usually. Except that this time he was, even though he knows that Mason would never. Jordan would never. Somewhere deep down he knew that they were training - it’s nothing unusual. And he knows that rather than admit that she’s wearing out or has had enough, Jordan will turn whatever she’s doing into a joke until the people around her are distracted enough for her to be able to take a break.

“You know you have to call her at least.”

“Yes.”

“You know that the longer you let her stew the madder she’s gonna get.”

“I know.”

“So what are you waiting for?”

Adam glances over at Mason before giving a short nod and pulling his phone from his pocket. He unlocks it, his thumb hovering over Jordan’s name as he looks back up at his friend.

“I apologise for-”

“Save it. I know.”

Mason holds a finger up to stop him and pulls a face at Adam’s attempt at an apology, and Adam offers him a small but grateful smile when he flicks his cigarette away and walks back into the Warehouse to give him some privacy.

The phone rings for a while before she answers, so long that he’s afraid for a moment that she’s going to ignore the call.

“Adam.”

She sounds too formal when her voice finally comes over the line, like she had when they’d first met. Like she doesn’t know how to talk to him.

“I want to apologise.”

“Okay.”

There’s silence for a moment and Adam doesn’t quite know what to say. He’s forgotten what it’s like to mess up with somebody he cares deeply for and to have to step out of his comfort zone to make things right.

“I should not have assumed-”

“You’re an asshole, you know that?”

He can’t help the sigh of relief at her words, one corner of his mouth tugging up into a small smile.

“I don’t know how I could possibly not know when you remind me of it so often.”

“Do a better job at remembering not to be one and I wouldn’t have to keep reminding you.”

He chuckles despite himself, already feeling a little better now that she’s speaking to him like she usually does.

“Noted.”

There’s silence between them for a moment before he speaks again.

“I would like you to come back.”

“I’m already on my way.”

She hangs up at that, and sure enough as soon as he pulls the phone away from his ear he can hear the distant but familiar sound of her car getting closer. He tucks his phone back into his pocket and clasps his hands behind his back, remaining where he is to wait for her.

He’s not dense enough to think that this is the end of their argument - he knows Jordan better than that by now. But it’s at least a start, and he can already feel the light starting to wash away the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	22. Chocolate

Jordan and Felix are  _ loud.  _ Whenever they spend time together the entire Warehouse knows about it. Adam muses that it’s often not unlike spending time at an indoor children’s playground during school holidays. Jordan and Mason are not much different, though it’s less playful and more of a sarcastic back and forth between the two of them that usually ends with Mason becoming frustrated with her and storming off in a huff, leaving Jordan pleased with herself that she managed to get to him yet again.

Adam used to be quietly and subtly envious of the relationships she shares with the rest of Unit Bravo, that is until they developed one of their own. It is not loud, it is not often playful, and (most of the time) it is not Jordan trying to get one up on him and annoy him just for the hell of it. It’s peaceful for the most part. Whether it’s because what happened between them in the Black Forest pushed them closer together and made them a part of each other or because of something else entirely, but there is not often a need for many words between them.

She is spending the night with him as has become common practice these days, and she’s sitting up cross legged beside him in bed, her laptop open in front of her, earbuds in her ears and a block of chocolate balanced on one knee. She’s absently breaking squares off every so often, her eyes glued to her screen. He can’t make out what she’s watching - not that he’s all that interested - but it looks to be one of the horror movies she seems to enjoy watching.

His hand is resting on her back from where he’s laying beside her, rubbing slow circles under her shirt as she watches the screen. It’s surprising even to him how content he is just to be near to her and watch her, and the way he always wants to be touching her surprises him even further. He manages to restrain himself for the most part when they are around others, but it often means that by the time they are finally alone together he takes every opportunity presented to touch her somehow.

She pops another square of chocolate into her mouth and absentmindedly holds the bar out to him, but he gently pushes it away knowing that she wouldn’t hear him if he were to answer verbally with her earbuds in. She looks over at him, appearing confused for a moment before shaking her head and removing the tiny speakers from her ears.

“Sorry, habit.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Offering you food.”

“No apology is necessary.”

She pauses her movie and turns to face him.

“Have you ever had chocolate?”

“Of course I have.”

“Do you like it?”

“Not particularly.”

“What kind of person doesn’t like chocolate?”

“I suppose the kind who tastes cocoa and sugar separately rather than chocolate.”

“That’s gotta suck.”

She sighs out sadly, as though she really does feel sorry for him. She finishes the piece of chocolate in her mouth and a small smile spreads across her face before she leans down closer to him, holding her weight up with her hands on his chest. Before he can ask her what she’s doing her mouth is on his and he reciprocates almost automatically, his hand sliding up her back to curl around the back of her neck.

She sucks on his tongue lightly and he realises what she’s doing: he can still faintly taste the chocolate in her mouth. Dulled down by the taste of her, it’s not at all nauseating as it would be to eat it directly and he almost lets out a disappointed groan when she pulls away.

“Better?”

She asks with a grin, but instead of answering he leans back up into her and kisses her again. He feels her smiling against his mouth as his tongue slides against hers, and he half sits up, half rolls into her until she’s laying on her back and he’s propped up above her on one elbow, his other hand resting on her stomach.

“Much.”

He finally answers when he pulls away and she laughs as his lips move down over her neck. One of her hands moves up to rest on the back of his head as he kisses her neck lightly, sending a shiver up and down her spine and making her arch up against him slightly as he speaks against the skin below her ear.

“I still prefer how you taste without it though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	23. Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** Smut in this chapter, 18+ only.

There’s no need for him to try and keep her from making any noise. He doesn’t usually, in fact usually he loves how vocal she is. And it’s not as though they’ve ever had any indication from anyone else that they can hear what’s sometimes happening in Adam’s room during the night.

There’s something about her letting him physically stop her from doing something though that makes him lose it a little. Whether it’s stopping her from moving, stopping her from orgasming, or like right now, stopping her from making any noise. Well, almost any noise.

His hand is pressed firmly against her mouth, her nails digging into his arm as she clings onto him and her legs wrapped around his waist as he fucks into her almost brutally. Her eyes are wide open and locked onto his and he’s so close that his forehead’s almost resting against hers, only just holding himself off of her with his other hand beside her head.

The only sounds she’s managing to make are tiny, muffled grunts and whimpers every so often, and he knows she’s trying so hard to keep even those at bay, the thought of her doing exactly what he wants her to do making his hips slam a little harder into hers.

He’s slowly grown more and more comfortable in bed with her. A good thing after the disaster that was their first time together. She had tried to reassure him that it was okay, that she knew it had been a while (more than the usual ‘while’) for him, that she didn’t think or feel any differently about him because of it. But it had taken a few more tries and him getting his groove back - so to speak - before he no longer needed the reassurance.

He’s not fond of having sex just for the sake of getting off, he needs for there to be a connection. No matter how ‘feral’ he gets (as Jordan often puts it), he needs to feel something, and the way Jordan finds a way to meet his eyes almost every time, no matter what position he has her in is enough to give him that.

A drawn out whine escapes her mouth and hits his hand and her brow furrows as her eyes roll back, her nails digging harder into his wrists and her legs tightening around him to bring her hips up into his.

“Can you be quiet?”

He asks her in a low voice, slowly moving his hand off of her mouth when she nods in response. She gasps, but manages to keep from making any more noise than that by biting down on her lower lip as her eyes open again to look back up at him.

He can’t quite work out why, when her stubbornness and the fact that she doesn’t back down without a fight is what had attracted him to her in the first place, he finds himself so turned on by how easily he can get her to submit to him when they’re together like this. It does something unfamiliar and exciting to him, makes him  _ want  _ to control her, to make her do exactly what he wants exactly how he wants and it still drives him crazy every time she eagerly goes along with it.

He can’t take his eyes off of her as she starts to clench around him, her eyes finally falling closed again before she lifts her head to bite down on his shoulder to keep herself quiet as she starts to come. Her legs tighten up even more, pressing herself hard up against him and grinding, pulsing all around him as her teeth sink further into the skin of his shoulder. Her heart is racing and she’s trying so hard to keep her panting quiet that she sounds as though she can barely breathe. 

He hisses when her jaw goes slack and she pulls herself off of his shoulder, and then lets out a deep groan when he reaches his own climax just as she lets her head fall back onto the bed and opens her eyes again to watch him, the eye contact sending an electric jolt down the length of his body as he comes inside of her.

His forehead finally rests down on hers as he starts to come down, both of them breathing heavily and he shifts to hold himself up on his elbows so that he can brush away the hair that’s clinging to the sweat on her forehead.

He remembers when it used to feel awkward afterwards with her, both of them thinking that they needed to talk to each other or reassure each other somehow, but now he enjoys the quiet that almost always comes after sex with her. This part is perhaps more important than the act himself, he always feels the closest to her when she lets him stay inside of her like this, wrapped up in her arms and legs as close as he can possibly get to her. The way they both know how the other feels in that moment without either of them having to say it is comforting, and something he never again thought he would feel with someone.

This quiet closeness is probably his favourite thing that she lets him do with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	24. Mistletoe

Christmas. Jordan hates it. While it was cute to watch Felix getting so excited over finally being able to decorate a place for it, now she’s about over it and with still a week to go until the big day she’s dreading having to spend so much more time pretending to be in the Christmas spirit for her friend’s sake. 

"You do not look pleased."

Adam points out as he comes to stand beside where she's sitting in the common room and shooting daggers at the Christmas tree in the corner.

"I'm fine."

She mutters in response and he sighs and takes a seat across from her.

"What's the matter?"

"I just don't really like Christmas."

"I had worked that much out. It's surprising, though."

She tears her eyes away from the brightly decorated tree complete with twinkling lights to look at him.

"Why?"

He just stares at her for a moment, as though carefully considering how to answer her.

"You're very…"

He trails off and doesn't continue, a frown forming on his face.

"Very…?"

Another pause, and she's starting to become frustrated by how vague and hesitant he's acting.

"You and Felix get along very well."

He finally says, not clearing anything up whatsoever. Until it dawns on her what he's trying to say.

"Are you saying that me and Felix are the same?"

"Somewhat."

He looks halfway between worried that he's pissed her off and amused by her reaction.

"Do you have a crush on Felix too? Should I be worried?"

She grins, holding back a laugh at the shocked look on his face when she switches his own mockery back onto him.

"I- no. I do not have a  _ crush  _ on Agent Hauville."

"It's a reasonable assumption. You have a crush on me, and if I'm just like Felix… you know?"

"I do not have a crush on you, either."

She falters at that, her smile fading as she studies his face.

"You don't?"

"No."

Yet another pause and she raises an eyebrow at him while she waits for him to explain himself.

"What I feel for you is far deeper than a mere  _ crush." _

He finally answers, and if it were anyone but Adam she'd think they were taking the piss. But it  _ is  _ Adam, and she knows that he doesn't joke in that way. He doesn't joke much at all, actually.

Her smile returns and she reaches across the small table between them to take his hand in hers. She wants to tease him some more, but it's much harder to do these days when they're having this kind of a moment. He tries his hardest not to treat her any differently for the most part for the sake of their relationship not disrupting the team's dynamic. So when they do finally get a chance to be together like this she doesn't want to ruin it by being sarcastic or dismissive.

"Telling you that is not the reason I came to see you, though."

"What's your reason, then?"

He glances up above her head and she follows his gaze to see mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, hastily stuck up by blu tack by the looks.  _ Bloody Felix.  _ Jordan assumes he's seen her heading this way and rushed in to stick it there before she made it.

"I didn't take you for a follower of cheesy Christmas traditions."

She looks back down at him with a smirk and he shrugs.

"I'm not. But I thought I should take the opportunity to kiss you once it was presented to me."

She's a little confused; it's decidedly unlike Adam to be instigating even something as small as a kiss under the mistletoe in the open like this, where  _ anyone  _ could walk by or come in and see them.

This must be Felix's doing as well. And probably Mason's. Sending him to her and telling him to live a little. She makes a mental note to thank them as Adam stands up, hands splayed out on the top of the table as he leans over it to kiss her.

It's a  _ real  _ kiss too, surprising her even more when his tongue slides into her mouth and he tilts his head to deepen it. She cups his face with both hands as he leans further over the table and further into her, pushing her against the back of her chair.

Maybe all these Christmas decorations aren't such a bad thing after all, she thinks to herself. Maybe she'll even convince Felix to hang some more mistletoe around the Warehouse when she speaks to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	25. Tree

"Is this necessary?"

"Yes."

"Felix will not be happy."

"I don't care."

"Yes, you do."

Jordan huffs out a sigh and drops her hands to her sides. Adam's right and she knows it. She cares a lot whether or not she upsets Felix.

Rebecca's just left, and her visits always put Jordan in a bad mood, but today was particularly draining. Something about her showing up amidst the Christmas cheer got to Jordan today. Showing up  _ here.  _ At the Warehouse. Showing up to  _ work.  _ And with a  _ gift  _ for her, of all things.

This time Jordan hadn’t been able to keep her thoughts to herself, and she’d asked all of the questions that she’s been keeping to herself for years. Where was she every Christmas before this one? Does she really think a simple gift left under Unit Bravo’s tree - not even Jordan’s own tree at her apartment - is going to be enough to make up for years of absences? Does she really think that there’s  _ anything  _ she can possibly do at this late stage to make up for it all?

Rebecca had offered no answers, as expected. She never does. She’d just given Jordan that sad smile that she seems to always wear around her daughter before turning and leaving, wishing them all a Merry Christmas quietly on her way out.

Jordan eyes the colourfully wrapped parcel under the tree angrily, then looks back up at the partially decorated tree. She'd taken to ripping tinsel and ornaments off of it rather than flying into a complete rage at anyone who came near her. Adam's right, Felix is going to be devastated.

"Wouldn't kill you to stand up for me."

She mutters, knowing it's unfair even as she says it. He knows as well, by the way he doesn't respond, just steps up beside her and wordlessly starts helping her to place the decorations back onto the tree.

She fumbles with one of the baubles for a moment, trying to untangle the string, before letting out a frustrated growl and then letting it fall to the floor and glaring at it. Adam's arms are around her before she quite knows what's happening and she tenses up, her arms remaining by her sides for a moment. Hugs from Adam are rare. In fact she's pretty sure this is the first one she's ever gotten from him without it being an attempt to physically remove her from danger. Eventually she leans into it, her arms winding around his waist and she rests her cheek on his chest, still staring at the gift under the tree.

"Why didn't she ever put in this much effort when I was a kid?"

She murmurs against his arm and there's a long moment of silence before he answers.

"I don't know."

She doesn't know why she still lets Rebecca get to her like this, but she can't help but think that if she was still in the dark about the Agency she wouldn't have seen her today. It's not good enough, wanting to be involved now, wanting to be a significant part of her life now that Jordan's in the same line of work.

She never wanted a colleague, she wanted her mother. Now she wants a boss, who she only sees when it's absolutely necessary and not for a minute longer.

She eventually sighs and pushes herself away from Adam, not noticing that there are tears welling in her eyes until she looks away from the gift and they blur her vision. She wipes at them furiously, horrified that she's in tears over the woman at all, let alone being in this state in front of Adam.

"Sorry. I just- it's not a big deal."

She sniffs and wipes at her eyes again as she tries to turn back to the tree, but Adam's hand on her shoulder stops her.

"You don't need to apologise, nor is it necessary for you to act around me as though she has no affect on you."

Jordan looks up at him and shakes her head before shrugging his hand away and getting back to work on the tree.

It's not okay for her to vent to him, or any of Unit Bravo, about her mother. She knows that they trust her mother, would follow her to the ends of the earth if she requested it, and it's not fair for her to dump her own issues with Rebecca onto them.

She feels bad enough that they're keeping hers and Adam's relationship from her. Lying regularly on their behalf, on  _ her  _ behalf. Adam's already being dishonest with someone he's close to for the sake of being with her, the last thing he needs is for her to dump her own problems with the woman onto him as well.

She takes a deep breath and steadies her hands to finish putting the decorations back on the tree, Adam silently helping her with the higher spots that she was somehow able to reach to pull things off but now can't hang them back up.

"I am not particularly adept at knowing what to say regarding personal matters, but I believe that I've told you before that we are your family also. Perhaps more so than Agent Mills is at the moment."

She doesn't reply, the tears threatening to spill from her eyes stopping her from trusting herself to speak.

"And whether or not the two of you someday mend what is between you, that will not change. You will always be my,  _ our,  _ family."

She finishes hanging the final bauble and turns to face him, not bothering to wipe the tears away this time as she leans into him and hugs him, his arms immediately circling her again.

He’s right, again. Of course. As usual. Unit Bravo is all the family she needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	26. Unity

It’s never fun when Jordan loses her cool. She yells, becomes irrational, sometimes she throws things. There’s no talking to her, and God help you if you try. Whether you’re the source of her anger or not, try talking to her when she’s in a mood and she’ll let you know that your attempts to calm her down are very much not appreciated.

Mason used to find it kind of hot. She’d rant and rave, sometimes to no one in particular about Rebecca, but more often than not she’d lose it with Adam. He’s lost count of how many times Jordan had snapped at him, gotten in his face (well, kind of) and been driven mad by how calmly and logically Adam would answer everything that she’d throw at him. Until she’d eventually  _ literally  _ throw something and storm away.

She doesn’t do it as much anymore, somehow it seems like even though Adam is still the person who riles her up the most, he’s also the one able to calm her back down the fastest. Mason doesn’t understand it - he’s never heard Adam speak to her particularly gently when she’s like that but these days she seems to hear him more clearly. He supposes these days it means more to her that she makes things right with him.

He’s not sure he understands Jordan anymore, but then if he really thinks about it he never really did understand  _ Jordan.  _ He understood her body, but that was about it. He can’t bring himself to think of her the same way anymore, and because of that he struggles to interact with her at all. At first it was guilt, then it was nerves over accidentally slipping back into old habits and saying the wrong thing, crossing a line with Adam. Now it’s just gone too far and he doesn’t even know what he’d say to her if he were to try to talk to her anyway.

Not that he cares. Not that he has any need for a relationship with a  _ human  _ other than the professional one forced on him by said human’s mother. Not with a human he’s not screwing.

Except that he does care, just a little bit. Jordan may be a human, she may not be a full Agent, but she's just as much a member of Unit Bravo as any of them now and he knows that someday, somehow they're going to have to sort their shit out and act like team mates at the very least. For everyone's sake.

He knows that it bothers the others occasionally, Felix most of all, that they're not entirely in sync anymore. He can sense better than anyone the awkwardness between Mason and Jordan and it eats at him. He's always at Mason to make it right no matter how much Mason insists that things are not exactly  _ wrong.  _ They're just disconnected and a little lost with each other these days.

He can hear them at it again, Jordan flying off the handle somewhere in the Warehouse and then the low drone of Adam replying to her, no doubt both making her see how ridiculous she’s being and pissing her off even more all at once. A door slams and he hears footsteps marching his way.  _ Dammit.  _ Of all the times for him to choose to just step out the front door for a cigarette.

The door flies open and Jordan storms outside, too caught up in her own head to even notice Mason standing there until he speaks.

“What are you throwing a tantrum about this time?”

She whirls around and glares at him, the most emotion she's given him in months, before sighing heavily and walking over to him. She slumps back against the wall beside him, eyeing his cigarette for a moment before looking away.

“I don't even remember.”

She admits after a moment, surprising him with the honesty of her answer. He'd been expecting a dig at Adam. He's not quite sure how to reply to it, and that combined with  _ really  _ not wanting to get involved in whatever drama she's created for herself this time keeps him quiet and they fall into an uneasy silence.

“How long do you think this is gonna last?”

She asks suddenly and he glances over at her.

“How long’s what going to last?”

“This weirdness. It’s been months.”

“Until you get over it.”

He answers without thinking, groaning inwardly to himself when he realises that he’s probably just put himself in her firing line. He really can’t be bothered dealing with one of her moods right now.

“I’ll get over it when you get over it.”

“I’m over it.”

He shoots a quick glance in her direction before flicking his cigarette away and pushing himself away from where he’s leaning against the wall.

“So, we’re good then?”

He’s never been in this situation before, at least not for a long time. Having to make amends with someone he used to sleep with. Usually once his relationship with someone ends, he doesn’t have to see them anymore. He’s never had to keep working with them, and he’s definitely never ended it with someone so that they could be with someone he respects as much as he respects Adam.

They owe it to the rest of the team to get along and be able to work together as part of the Unit. There’s also the fact that he’s actually grown kind of fond of her. Maybe even more so that he was when they were sleeping together. She doesn’t need to know that though - she only needs to know that he’s okay with being around her. So he just gives a short nod, and a grin spreads across her face as though it had revealed more than he’d intended.

She lets out another resigned sigh and pushes off of the wall, turning to head back inside presumably to go and make things right with Adam. Their fights never last long anymore.

“You know, for a human you’re not so bad.”

He offers before she disappears through the door, and she turns back to face him and gives him a wink.

“For a vampire, you’re not so scary.”

She grins and he lets a small smile come across his face once she’s back inside. Their history hadn’t yet interfered with their ability to work together, but it’s the tiniest bit comforting to know that they may be able to do it as something close to friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	27. Wreath

The smell is horrendous. Adam's been all around his room and cannot locate the source of it, so he steps out into the hallway and it just about knocks him off of his feet. There's no trace of the usual neutral smell in Warehouse, whatever this is covers even the scent of Jordan which has become ever present in some areas. Adam's room being one of them.

He sniffs the air and pulls a face, taking a step in the direction it seems to be originating from when Mason rounds the corner, his shirt pulled up over his nose as he stalks past.

"What is that?"

Mason just jerks a thumb behind him, barely slowing as he mutters "common room" in reply, and Adam hears his door slam shut as he disappears into his bedroom.

It's a God awful combination of lavender and mint and it's already making Adam's head hurt by the time he reaches the door of the common room. He hears Jordan and Felix inside, because  _ of course  _ those two are behind it. Though he's not sure how Felix is tolerating the smell.

He pushes the door open and steps inside to see the two of them sitting beside one another at one of the tables, a pile of cut plants, flowers and herbs in front of then. Jordan seems to be weaving them onto a wire circle while Nate looks on from beside an open window on the other side of the room.

"What are you doing?"

Adam asks, and Jordan rolls her eyes a little as she looks up at him before nodding towards Felix.

"Jordie's making me a wreath!"

"Yay."

Adam can almost feel the sarcasm in the one word reply that she offers, though Felix doesn't seem to notice.

"With real stuff!"

Felix carries on, gesturing to the pile of greenery.

"I did try to explain that many shops sell faux wreaths now, but…"

Nate chimes in, almost helplessly and Adam raises an eyebrow at Jordan, who just looks back at him.

"You think this was my idea?"

She asks incredulously before getting back to work, and Adam knows there's very little chance that it is. Jordan doesn't like Christmas and her mood has been significantly below merry for the past week. More likely is that Felix has seen that she needs distracting and has run with it, ultimately getting something he wants out of it at the same time.

Before Adam can say anymore Jordan brandishes the completed wreath and hands it to Felix.

"Where are you hanging it?"

"On the door, outside."

Nate cuts in quickly before Felix can answer and gestures for him to follow, leaving Adam and Jordan alone in the common room.

"You are very patient with him."

"I wouldn't say that."

She replies in a half laugh as she retrieves a trash can to brush the leftover cuttings into. He moves to help her, barely even noticing how easily he falls into the act of doing such menial tasks with her. Everything from patrols right down to making the bed together in the morning, it's as though almost every part of their lives are fusing together.

"I just like that smile he does when he's happy, you know?"

She adds, grinning up at him as she brushes her hands off on her jeans in a rather impressive impersonation of Felix.

"I'm familiar with it, yes."

His lips quirk upwards in a small smile of his own and she nudges his shoulder with hers before returning the trash can to its place.

"I like yours too but it's harder to get to."

He chuckles and watches her come back over to him, lifting up onto the tips of her toes to kiss him lightly. He returns it briefly before placing his hands on her shoulders and holding her away from him.

"You smell like a herb garden."

He tells her seriously, and she bursts out laughing but takes another step away from him.

"And we're in public, I know."

As though having summoned it herself, Nate and Felix walk back into the room, Rebecca trailing closely behind. Adam drops his hands to his sides and takes another small step away from Jordan, noticing out of the corner of his eye that she does the same.

Rebecca eyes the both of them suspiciously for a moment.

"Everything alright?"

"Yep."

Jordan answers before Adam can, and Rebecca sighs heavily.

"You two aren't arguing again are you?"

"Nope."

She answers again, shooting Adam a small smile before turning back to Rebecca. They may have gotten lucky this time, but whenever they have a close call like this it forces Adam to realise how careful they have to be, and makes him hope harder than he has for anything in centuries that one day they will no longer have to keep what they are a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	28. Museum

There are a lot of things Jordan would rather be doing. _A lot._ Spending her day off in bed with Adam being at the top of that list. But unfortunately she's not sharing her day off with Adam. Instead, she's spending the day with Nate.

It's not that she doesn't love Nate. He was probably the first member of Unit Bravo that she really developed any kind of a connection with, but his idea of fun is worlds apart from hers and she's found herself in the city, headed for the museum.

Nate walks beside her, a spring in his step and obviously looking forward to the day ahead. It's been a while since she's spent a full day alone with any of the vampires other than Adam, and while Nate doesn't seem to notice a difference in the mood around them, Jordan is panicking on the inside.

Whatever she and Adam are is as yet undefined, and she's not sure what she'll say if Nate has any questions. Felix always has questions. Mason too, though his are usually beyond inappropriate. While Felix asks her things like what does it take to make Adam laugh, Mason asks things like is he a talker or a moaner.

She's almost afraid of what Nate might ask her, but perhaps he doesn't have any questions. He's known Adam the longest after all, maybe he already knows the details of what Adam is like in a relationship.

That realisation unfortunately means that Jordan now has questions of her own. She's never been with someone like Adam before. It’s not that he’s less expressive or affectionate as her past boyfriends, for the most part. It’s true that he’s not as open with that expression and affection as frequently, but it pours out of him when they’re alone together.

He’s hard to read at times, though. Sometimes it almost seems as though he’s ashamed of her, ashamed of being with her. She knows that he didn’t think much of humans in general when she first met him and sometimes she wonders if that has something to do with why he doesn’t want anyone to know about them.

"What's on your mind, Jordan?"

Nate's voice breaks into her thoughts and she looks up at him in surprise.

"Nothing."

"You didn't need to come here with me. I know that you are not as excited by history as I am."

"It's fine, what else was I gonna do? Besides we haven't gotten to hang out just you and me for ages."

He shoots a small, almost sly smile in her direction.

"It's true that you've been rather busy elsewhere."

Whether it's innuendo or not, the statement makes Jordan blush and she frowns at herself when she feels her cheeks heat up. It’s the first time Nate has brought up her relationship with Adam since it began, at least around her, and she feels something like a child being scolded for stealing cookies.

“You have no need to be embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed!”

She replies defensively, and he raises an eyebrow at her. She’s not embarrassed. She’s… well, she doesn’t exactly know what she is. Only that she didn’t expect to feel so strange spending one on one time with Adam’s best friend these days.

“He’s happy with you, and he cares for you a great deal.”

Nate adds in a much gentler tone, and Jordan glances over at him again to see that the amused smile has disappeared from his face.

“You think?”

“I know. In fact I’m not sure he’s cared for anyone quite as much as he cares for you in all the time I’ve known him.”

“That’s… actually kind of comforting.”

She almost sighs the words out, not realising how much she’d needed that reassurance until it was offered to her.

“Did you doubt his feelings?”

“No. I doubted that he was happy about them.”

“Perhaps in the beginning he struggled with what he feels for you. But I don’t think he would wish for things to be any other way between the two of you than they are now.”

She gives him a small smile and he wraps an arm around her when she nudges him with her shoulder.

“Now you both just have to ensure that you don’t destroy what you have.”

“Was that Nate speak for ‘don’t screw it up’?”

She asks as they arrive at the museum with Jordan feeling significantly better about spending the day with Nate than she was at the start of it - even if she was going to have to spend it somewhere she’d never in a million years go of her own accord.

“I suppose it was.”

Nate answers with a smile and Jordan laughs and follows him inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	29. Warm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** Smut in this chapter, 18+ only.

It's freezing cold and the wind causes the snow to swirl through the icy air before settling on the ground. Jordan had taken one step outside the Warehouse to head home before turning straight back around and going inside again.

No way does she want to be out in it - not even from the door to her car, and no way does she want to drive in it. And so far, the decision to stay the night has been one of the better ones she's made lately.

She's laid out flat at the end of the bed, her legs wrapped around Adam to help bring her hips up into his while he leans down over her, his hands balled into fists on the bed on either side of her holding his weight as he brutally pounds into her.

She's already come twice, maybe three times. Or is it four? Enough times for her to not be bothered keeping track anymore, and for the tips of her toes and fingers to be tingling and warm, every nerve in her body practically on fire.

She's gasping every time his hips slam back down into hers, tightening her legs every so often to grind against him and shuddering at the sound of the low moan he lets out whenever she does.

His eyes are wide open, as usual, locked onto hers until she can't help but look away once in a while. Adam's  _ intense _ , in just about every way, and sex is no different. Her eyes roam over his face and chest, admiring how flushed they are, the sweat beading on his skin and the way his muscles move as he fucks her.

Almost incoherent sentences fall from her lips with her gasps, telling him under her breath how good he makes her feel and how badly she wants him to come inside of her and her eyes dart down to where his canines are protruding just slightly as they sometimes do.

It seemed to happen every time in the beginning, he'd become so overwhelmed by everything that he wouldn't be able to control himself. She supposes he's more settled with her now because it doesn't happen anywhere near as often, but that just makes her love it even more when it does.

He'd seemed ashamed of them at first, as though he hadn't wanted her to see them, that niggling idea of her thinking he's a monster tugging at the back of his mind. Now it seems to be a relief to him to not have to work at keeping himself under control and hiding that part of himself.

She pushes up onto her elbows, her hands resting on top of his fists and she's practically begging him to let her feel him come, her voice barely more than a breathy whine. He takes advantage of her lifting herself up higher to press his lips to hers, masking his desperate sounding grunts as he starts to come.

She's too wrung out and too sensitive to come with him, but the feeling of him throbbing and spilling out inside of her still forces a moan from her and he breaks the kiss as his knees buckle and he practically falls on top of her, only just catching himself on his elbows.

A short laugh escapes her before she even knows it's coming and the brief chuckle she gets out of him in return makes her start again, and this time she can't stop. Her arms wind around his neck and she pulls herself up closer to him, burying her face against his shoulder as she tries to get a hold of herself.

"Is something amusing?"

Adam asks after a while and Jordan shakes her head because no, nothing is particularly funny.

"Not really."

He arches an eyebrow, waiting for her to settle down and get comfortable before resting a little more of his weight down on her, his hips still pressed against hers.

Jordan's used to this now, used to staying in whatever position they end up in for a little while until Adam feels ready to let her go. Just one of many things she's coming to recognise as his wordless shows of affection.

"You laughed."

She adds as though it's an explanation.

"Your laughter caught me off guard."

"You almost collapsed."

She grins at him, she really shouldn't be riling him up anymore but sometimes she just can't help herself.

"I would not say I  _ collapsed  _ as such."

"No? What would you call it?"

He doesn't answer her, just nuzzles his face into the crook of her neck and kisses lightly, an attempt to distract her from her amusement.

"Wait 'til I tell Felix I finally found a way to take you down."

He lets out a low growl and bites down on her neck gently.

"You wouldn't."

His voice is muffled by her neck and she smiles to herself as she starts trailing her hands up and down his back, making him shiver.

Yeah, being here wrapped up in the warmth of Adam and his feelings for her is definitely turning her choice to stay the night into one of her best ever split second decisions.

"I wouldn't. Some things are just for us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	30. Dusk

Jordan's calm now that the rush of the festive season and new year. Well, calm by her standards anyway. For weeks now she's been on edge, not able to sit still for too long and her mood's been more unpredictable than usual.

Adam knows Christmas is a difficult time for her and he understands. He supposes there's something to be said for family trauma having occurred literally centuries ago; he has learnt by now to push the pain out of his kind for the most part.

Jordan's issues with her parents are still recent enough to hurt her, and he wishes more than anything that he could convince her to try and make things right before it's too late. But she's stubborn, just as stubborn as he is, and he knows how such a conversation would have played out with himself all that time ago.

He absentmindedly presses a kiss to the back of her head, knowing that all he can do is be here for her in some way and reassure her that he and the rest of Unit Bravo think of her as a part of their family, and he hopes it's enough.

They're at her apartment, more specifically they're on the roof of her apartment building huddled up in blankets together under the small amount of cover up here watching the sunset. She relaxes back against his chest, sitting between his legs with her fingers absently drawing light circles on his knees.

It surprises him that she's chosen to spend New Years Eve like this with him rather than accepting Tina's offer to go out but she seems exhausted, weeks of wearing a smile for the sake of Felix while struggling with her own feelings about Christmas has worn her out and it seems that now she just wants a chance to relax.

"Are you certain that this is how you want to spend the evening?"

He asks her quietly, running his hands lightly from her shoulders down her arms to rest on top of hers. She just nods in response and seems to lean even more heavily against him and he thinks for a moment that she may be falling asleep.

"Can I tell you something?"

Her head tilts back to look up at him as she speaks and he gives a short nod.

"Of course."

"Without you feeling like you need to answer me?"

He frowns and nods again, shifting his gaze down to meet hers. She just stares at him for a long time, looking the most nervous that he thinks he's ever seen her.

"I never thought we'd get here, you know?"

"You never thought we would get where?"

"Like you and me together like this. For awhile I didn't think it was ever going to happen."

He's confused by the way her voice is shaking, the speed at which her heart is pounding, the way she slips her hands out from under his to wipe her suddenly sweaty palms on her thighs.

"I'm glad it did."

She adds before he can reply, not that he knows how to respond to her anyway. For a moment he thinks that she's trying to ease him into a break up speech. Would it even be a break up speech when they have never had a conversation declaring them officially together? But then isn't the fact that she's spent almost every night with him for the better part of a year enough to make what is between them a relationship? It certainly feels more like a relationship to him than anything else he can remember having with anyone before her.

He's so caught up in his own thoughts and trying to work out what she's trying to tell him that he almost misses it.  _ Almost. _ She's so quiet when she finally comes out with it, barely above a whisper but to him she may as well have screamed it out for all of Wayhaven to hear.

"I love you."

Whatever answer he should be giving her catches in his throat and he freezes. His words refuse to come out, his arms refuse to move to wrap around her like he wants them to, all he can do is stare at her.

Apparently she's not expecting any more than what he's giving her because after a moment she just gives him a small smile and looks away from him, her hands slipping back under his and squeezing his knees gently. She lets out a small sigh of relief, as though it was something she's been holding in and now that it's out she can breathe easier.

His mind and body abruptly snap out of whatever daze they're in and he winds his arms around her body, bringing one hand to her chin to tilt her head up to look at him again. 

"I told you I don't need you to answer me."

She reassures him, and he's very nearly tempted to leave it at that until she looks away and a pang of guilt hits him. He feels the same way, he's known it for longer than he's willing to acknowledge. He's been holding back on saying it to her, terrified that once he says it out loud there's no turning back. Once he's told her that he's in love with her it's going to devastate her if he does one day end up hurting her like he fears he will.

He hadn't counted on her being willing to say it first though. In fact he hadn't even counted on her feeling half as much for him as he does for her. He knows that she cares for him, he knows that she's attracted to him, but he hadn't considered the possibility that she's fallen for him.

It's some time before he sorts through the mess of thoughts in his head enough to be able to form a comprehensive sentence and by the time he feels ready to answer her he finds that she's fallen asleep against his chest, wrapped in his arms.

He lets out a heavy sigh and ducks down to kiss the top of her head again, his arms tightening around her just that little bit more before he finally speaks.

"I love you, Jordan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


	31. Eve

They’ve come a long way, and both of them feel it whenever they’re together. A long way from Jordan deliberately riling him up because she knew that just about everything she did irritated him. A long way from Adam going out of his way to spend as little time with her as possible.

It’s taken them a long time to realise that they were doing these things - leaning into their dislike for each other - as a way to distract themselves from the fact that they have always liked each other. Maybe they’ve always loved each other, though neither of them are willing to say that out loud.

Sometimes it doesn't seem like much has changed. She still deliberately pushes his buttons. He still sometimes needs some time away from her. But those things are alright when both of them know that despite appearances,  _ everything  _ has changed.

Adam can still remember his nerves that day, a few weeks after they'd arrive home from Germany. nerves on that day, a few weeks after they arrived home from Germany and things were starting to return to normal. They’d had another argument, about what he can’t even remember. He usually can’t recall exactly how his arguments with Jordan begin, even now. But this one had been different, and he’d grabbed her and almost kissed her again before thinking better and releasing her again. He can still remember how she’d rolled her eyes and stalked away from him, as though she’d wanted it.

Of course he knows now that she  _ had  _ wanted it, but at the time it still seemed far too outlandish of an idea to be realistic. Even after their first kiss, he’d struggled for a long time with whether or not her feelings for him were genuine or just a side effect of what he’d done to her.

He waited for them to fade away, but they didn't. They only seemed to get stronger, and Jordan became more and more persistent until the evening she'd paced around outside of his door before finally knocking.

He hadn't realised it at the time, too wrapped up on what was happening, but that night had changed  _ everything.  _ Waking up the following morning was almost like waking up to an entirely new existence. The parts of him that had been empty for so long were no more, the sadness that Jordan had said she’d felt in him - the sadness that he’d long ago learnt to ignore - was already slowly ebbing away.

That was years ago and he still thinks of it as the night before his life took an entirely new turn. If he’d known that last night was also going to be the eve of things changing forever, he might have done things a little differently. He might not have argued with her. He might not have let her stay with Mason and Felix, he might not have ventured so far with Nate.

He stares at the scene before him, unable to move, unable to react at all and he wishes more than anything that he could go back to that morning and make different decisions. He wishes that he could go back to the night before and make love to her instead of spending the evening talking things through and ensuring that she didn’t go to bed angry with him. She would’ve gotten more than the quick kiss goodnight than she got.

Mason and Nate are standing between him and Felix as though they’re afraid Adam’s about to fly into a rage at the young vampire, who is staring at him and looking nothing short of heartbroken. Adam’s not angry - how could he be? He’s grateful.

Except that he’s not grateful at all. And he  _ is  _ angry. He knows that it will pass, he knows that he will not allow this to come between him and Felix, but right now he thinks that perhaps it’s a good thing that the other two have situated themselves between them. He opens his mouth to speak but no words come out, and Felix glances down at the ground before him before looking back up at Adam and swallowing hard.

“Adam, I-”

“Do not speak.”

Adam cuts him off, surprising even himself with the chill laced through his voice.

“We had no choice.”

Mason tries quietly, and Adam just shakes his head and then turns and walks away from them all. He can’t do this right now. If he tries to deal with this now he’s going to do or say something that he regrets, he needs time to process what this means. What this  _ will  _ mean.

“Let him go.”

He hears Nate say behind him, and he doesn’t even turn to see which of them has tried to follow him. He doesn’t care right now, he doesn’t even know what he’d say to any of them. All he knows is that once again, everything’s going to change for him. For  _ them. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts, feelings, concerns? Good or bad, you can find me on Tumblr @crackerdumortain and my inbox is always open!


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